PARIS – The French National Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill aimed at strengthening the government’s oversight of mosques and religious schools and defeating other practices – from online hate speech to forced marriages – which, according to President Emmanuel Macron, are rooted in the Islamic separatism.
The proposed legislation passed the National Assembly, or the House of Commons, by a vote of 347-151, which gave support to legislators in the ranks of Mr. Macron, as well as from other centrist parties. It’s going to the Senate now.
Mr. Macron and his supporters in parliament drafted the bill in response to the spread of ‘Islamist separatism’, which the president described as an ideology aimed at building a parallel society in France where religious rules prevail civil laws dominate. The ideology, says the Macron government, undermines the values of the French Republic – freedom, equality and fraternity – as well as laïcité, France’s strict separation of religion and state.
The proposed legislation requires religious associations and mosques to declare foreign funding of more than € 10,000 ($ 12,000), and sign a pledge to respect France’s Republican values in order to receive state subsidies. The bill would 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 can be sentenced to up to five years in prison and a fine of up to € 75,000.