PARIS – France’s National Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill aimed at strengthening government oversight of mosques and religious schools and cracking down on other practices – from hate speech to forced marriage – that President Emmanuel Macron says are entrenched. in Islamist separatism.
The proposed legislation was adopted by the National Assembly, or lower house of Parliament, by a vote of 347-151, with the support of MPs from Mr Macron and other centrist parties. He’s heading to the Senate now.
Mr Macron and his supporters have framed the bill as a response to the spread of “Islamist separatism”, which the president describes as an ideology that aims to build a parallel society in France, where religious rules prevail over civil law. This ideology, says the Macron government, undermines the values of the French Republic – freedom, equality and fraternity – as well as secularism, the strict separation of France from religion and state.
The proposed legislation requires religious associations and mosques to declare external funding of more than 10,000 euros ($ 12,000) and sign a pledge to respect France’s republican values in order to receive state subsidies. The bill will also make it easier for the government to close mosques, associations and schools that criticize Republican values.
The proposed legislation would make it a criminal offense for anyone, in the name of ideology or religious extremism, to put pressure on civil servants and public service providers to deviate from France’s secular values. According to its provisions, a man who refuses to allow a male doctor to examine his wife could receive up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 75,000 euros.