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Tuesday, 16 February 2021 (YJC)_French MPs have approved a controversial ‘anti-separatism ‘bill.
French MPs have approved a controversial bill the government says will strengthen the country’s secular principles, but critics argue could harm civil rights, especially those of the 5.7-million-strong Muslim community.
The vote on Tuesday on the so-called “anti-separatism” bill, brought forward by President Emmanuel Macron, paves the way for it to be passed into law within months.
The legislation will now be passed up to France’s upper house, the conservative-led Senate. The Senate has the power to amend the bill but is expected to greenlight it.
“It’s an extremely strong secular offensive,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told RTL radio ahead of the vote Tuesday. “It’s a tough text … but necessary for the republic.”
Among the more than 70 separate articles, the law expands the ability of the state to close places of worship and religious schools, as well as to ban preachers it considers “extremist”.
Amid concerns about the foreign funding of mosques, it requires religious groups to declare large foreign donations and have their accounts certified.
It comes with presidential elections looming next year and with decades-long divisions about the integration of France’s large Muslim population.
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