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The new project approved in France seeks to fight terrorism

On December 9th, 2020, the French government approved a bill entitled Bill comforting the respect of the principles of the Republic (“Projet de loi confortant le respect des principes de la République”). Through its 51 articles, the bill’s intended aim is to strengthen the French legal framework, in order to combat radical Islamism and separatism and hence act against those who want to undermine the French Republic and its values.

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The French bill “comforting the respect of the principles of the Republic”

On December 9th, 2020, the French government approved a bill entitled Bill comforting the respect of the principles of the Republic (“Projet de loi confortant le respect des principes de la République”), presented by the Minister of the Interior, M. Gérald Darmanin, and the Minister delegate to the Minister of the Interior in charge of citizenship, Mrs Marlène Schiappa. This date is of symbolical importance in France, as it marked the 115th anniversary of the 1905 law on the separation of church and state, a cornerstone of the French Republic. 

The intended aim of this bill is to strengthen the French legal framework, in order to combat radical Islamism and separatism, and hence act against those who want to undermine the French Republic and its values. 

Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, presented his vision for the new bill in an address, on October 2nd, 2020, from Les Mureaux. He reiterated his determination to fight radical Islamism and separatism, which can lead to terrorist attacks, while at the same time ensuring that Islam, the second religion in France, is not being stigmatised.

Since this address, the concern that Islamist extremists are promoting ideas that separate them from the principles and values of the French Republic has only grown stronger following three terrorist attacks in France, between September and October 2020, attributed to Islamic extremism:

- On September 25th, 2020, two people were injured in a stabbing outside the former headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in Paris;

- On October 16th, 2020, a French secondary school teacher was killed and beheaded, in the suburbs of Paris, for having shown his students cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a class on free speech;

- On October 29th, 2020, three people were killed in a stabbing at Notre-Dame de Nice, a Roman Catholic basilica.

However, if this idea of trying to safeguard the Republic’s values against Islamist extremists and separatism is clearly stated in the explanatory memorandum preceding the bill, the bill itself does not refer to words such as “Islamism”, “radicalism” or “separatism”.

The bill is composed of 51 articles, split into four Titles and eight Chapters, aimed at strengthening the current legal framework.

Title I aims to guarantee the respect of the Republican values. Chapter 1 contains dispositions regarding the public service, Chapter 2 concerns associations, Chapter 3 has for object the protection of human dignity, Chapter 4 aims to fight hate speech and illicit content online, and Chapter 5 relates to education and sports.

Title II has for object to guarantee the free exercise of worship. Chapter 1 aims at strengthening the transparency of the conditions relating to the exercise of worship, Chapter 2 intends on reinforcing the preservation of the public order, and Chapter 3 provides transitional dispositions for Title II.

Title III contains a provision relating to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism and Title IV related to the dispositions applicable to French overseas territories.

More specifically, the key measures appear to be the following:

1. The principles of neutrality and “laïcité”, the French notion of secularism, developed by French caselaw, will be transposed into the legislation and will apply to all operators of public services, including the field of transportation (article 1 of the bill)

2. Those sentenced by the Courts for provocation to commit terrorist acts or justification or glorification of such acts will automatically by inscribed on the List of perpetrators of terrorist offences (Fichier des auteurs d’infractions terrotistes - FIJAIT) (article 3 of the bill).

3. A new offence will be created to protect agents in charge of public services, by sanctioning threats, violence and all other act of intimidation carried out against them in order to evade the rules relating to the public service in question (article 4 of the bill).

4. All associations requesting public funding will have to commit to complying with the values of the Republic (article 6 of the bill).

5. New measures will be enforced in order to combat polygamy (which will also become a ground for refusal of residence permits), virginity certificates and forced marriages (articles 14-17 of the bill).

6. A new offence will be created to sanction the endangering of someone’s life through the diffusion of information that allows him/her to be identified or located by people who want to harm him/her (article 18 of the bill). The creation of this new offence is in direct response to the murder of secondary school teacher, Samuel Paty, on October 16th, 2020. After he showed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a class on free speech, his name was shared online by the father of one of his students. The killer, a Chechen refugee with whom the student’s father also exchanged messages, travelled 80km to attack the teacher after having paid some students to point him out.

7. Schooling, either in a state or public school, will be mandatory for all students aged three to sixteen. Home schooling will only be allowed in specific circumstances (article 21 of the bill).

8. The regulations governing cultural associations under the law of December 9th, 1905 will be simplified (article 26 of the bill).

9. The advantages and resources received by a cultural association from a source aboard will be more strictly controlled (article 35 of the bill).

10. The penalties for (i) interference with the freedom to worship or to refrain for worship and for (ii) incitement to commit certain serious offences or to discrimination, hatred or violence when committed in a place of worship will be stiffened (articles 38 and 39 of the bill).

Conclusion

As was to be expected with a bill aimed at combating radical Islamism and separatism, in a context of terrorism and in a country where Islam is the second religion, not all welcome the government’s 51 articles.

On one side, some believe that the bill is too weak and fails to tackle problems in a way that could prove efficient to combat radical Islamism, separatism and terrorism. They criticise the French government for having drafted the bill in a state of emergency, leading to many loopholes. 

On the other side, some, both in France and abroad, accuse the French government of using this bill to target Muslims and stigmatise Islam. This led to demonstrations in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Lebanon, and further undermined the relations between France and Turkey.

The next step now is for the bill to be examined by a special Committee of the National Assembly, at the beginning of 2021.