French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced that the government would submit a draft-law against political Islam.
“Laïcité (secularism) is the fundamental value of the Republic, and my government will defend it relentlessly,” the newly appointed premier said in a speech before the National Assembly on Wednesday.
He continued: “No religion and no intellectual stream or group has the right to dominate the public space and to confiscate the values of the Republic. We have to call things by their names. The war against radical Islamism in all its forms today will remain one of our priorities, and we will present a bill against separatism” following the summer break.
A report issued last week by a special committee in the French Senate, backed by the statements of Interior minister Gerald Darmanin, put the issue of political Islam at the forefront of concerns.
The report stated that Islamic extremism was “today a tangible reality” in many neighborhoods, and that its advocates “are now seeking to lay hands on Islam in France.”
President Emmanuel Macron had spoken about the concept of “Islamic separatism”, which he said was intended to promote values and practices abnormal to French society.
The sooner elections approach or a terrorist threat returns to the forefront of events, the stronger the discussion about political Islam and the ways to combat it.
After more than three years at the Elysee Palace, Macron has not fully disclosed his plans to deal with the second religion in France. This issue forms the ideological basis for the extreme right parties.
There is no doubt that it will be one of the main topics to be raised ahead of the presidential elections in the spring of 2022.
