Protesters say French anti-radicalism legislation is anti-Muslim

PARIS —
Activists rallied Sunday in Paris to demand that the French authorities abandon a invoice geared toward rooting out Islamist extremism that the protesters say might trample on spiritual freedom and make all Muslims into potential suspects.

French lawmakers maintain a key vote Tuesday on the draft legislation, which is anticipated to win approval in each homes of parliament. The legislative debate comes amid lingering fears of extremist violence after an Islamic radical beheaded a historical past trainer and different latest assaults.

President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist authorities argues that the invoice is required to guard French values like gender equality and secularism, and to forestall radical concepts from taking root and provoking violence.

However these at Sunday’s protest mentioned France already has authorized instruments to do that, and that the invoice stigmatizes the nation’s No. 2 faith regardless that the vast majority of French Muslims don’t espouse extremist views.

Some described it as a political ploy by Macron to win over conservative and far-right voters forward of subsequent yr’s presidential election.

“It is not value attacking a complete group as a result of one particular person did a horrible act,” mentioned Zeyneb Bouabidi, a lady from the Paris suburb of Conflans-Saint-Honorine, the place trainer Samuel Paty was beheaded in October after exhibiting his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad printed in satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo for a dialogue about free expression.

Bouabidi described going through occasional discrimination at college and in her jobs due to her Arab-sounding title, and fears legal guidelines like this one might make issues worse.

“They make feedback like `return to your nation.’ However I’m in my nation! I used to be born in France,” she mentioned.

A collective of Muslim, anti-racism, left-wing, pro-Palestinian and different activist teams organized Sunday’s rally close to Trocadero Plaza throughout from the Eiffel Tower to name for the invoice to be scrapped. About 150 individuals took half within the peaceable protest, together with Muslims and non-Muslims.

The federal government insists the invoice would not goal Muslims. It seeks to halt the issuing of virginity certificates, the apply of polygamy and compelled marriage. It could crack down on fundamentalist educating by requiring all youngsters three and over to be at school, and tighten guidelines on the funding and functioning of mosques and spiritual associations.

Different religions, from Buddhists to Roman Catholics, have complained in addition they might undergo fallout from the invoice.