After the recent attacks in Nice and Paris, the French cabinet launched a comprehensive legislative package against Islamism. The proposal adopted today with more than 50 articles provides, among other things, harsh penalties for calls for hatred and violence against named people on the Internet.
The government is reacting to the murder of the teacher Samuel Paty near Paris, who had shown Mohammed cartoons in class. Before he was beheaded, Paty was threatened online by an alleged Islamist in mid-October, including his name and school.
Stricter procedure announced
Prime Minister Jean Castex said the legislative package with more than 50 articles wanted to put an end to the „dangerous ideology (…) of radical Islamism“. The main features of the planned law go back to President Emmanuel Macron.
Among other things, the head of state wants to crack down on Islamist groups that keep girls away from classes or force them to wear a headscarf. In addition, French mosques are to be made more independent of foreign influences. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had sharply criticized Macron in this context.
