The French Antiterrorist law: a controversial law

During the first Paris attacks in January 2015, the Prime Minister services considered to establish a state of emergency, in the event of a greater terrorist attack. This state of emergency was finally set up in November of the same year. In May 2017 President E. Macron prolonged this state to November 1st asking simultaneously the government to suggest different measures to replace this state of emergency.

On Wednesday, September 13th, 2017 the decision, pushed by the French government, to amend the draft bill was submitted to the National Assembly.

But, what is the purpose of this law? The Antiterrorist law was set up to prevent terrorist attacks and also to put an end to the state of emergency put in place in 2015. Yet the 2nd article contained in this amendment sparks a controversy: it allows the administrative closure of places of worship within which statements constituting “an incitement to hatred or violence or an incitement to commit terrorist acts or doing apology for terrorism” are held. Since 2015, 16 places of worship have been closed, like the Ecquevilly mosque (Yvelines: Paris area) that was closed during the state of emergency “owing to the presence in its library of works legitimizing jihad or stoning women.” This amendment will allow the closure of a maximum of six months of several places of worship, with a 48-hour period allowing the manager of the place of worship to file a suspensive appeal with the Administrative Court. Other polemical articles will allow the widening of ID controls’ perimeter, and allow the administrative authority to impose house arrests and to permit searches and seizures.

The left-wing party La France Insoumise and the right-wing party Les Républicains were both opposed to the bill. The first ones accused the governement to be “liberticidal”. Indeed, this law does not only target the terrorist attacks, but the entire Muslim community in France. The others accused the government to disarm the nation removing the state of emergency.

Gérard Collomb on Twitter after the bill's adoption 03/10/2017

Considered as a nonsense by many theologians and imams, like Mohamed Bajrafil according to whom “It is totally absurd to attack theologians or books dating back to several centuries. One should never read the past with glasses of today, and vice versa. If we take St. Thomas Aquinas and transfer his texts as they are in 2017, we will inevitably find ambiguities. Should we also close the French National Library (BNF), which houses some of the oldest manuscripts of Islam?” the 2nd article and the entire bill were adopted by the National Assembly last Tuesday. The MPs are also supposed to vote for its adoption today. Earlier this week, the French Minister of the Interior Gérard Collomb said that he wanted to wipe out ISIS’ influence in France.

This bill engenders many questions and debates that might awake our consciences. How far will the French government go to stop terrorist attacks? Is France becoming an anti-Muslim country? It is definitively a case to monitor.

What do you mean?

a bill/ draft bill : proposed legislation made by the government

the MPS: abbreviation for Members of Parliament