France’s conservative Les Républicains political party warned the French government’s new plan to counter radicalisation focuses too much on the consequences.
The programme does not look at the “root causes” of radicalisation, Les Républicains spokeswoman Lydia Guirous said, adding that President Emmanuel Macron’s government was locked in a state of “denial” over Islamic terrorism.
The plan, announced by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe last week, includes 60 measures and puts the accent on prevention and on the need to catch danger signals within French society.
The measures include doubling the number of prisoners evaluated for radicalisation to 250 per year and creating 1,500 extra “isolated” prison places for radicalised inmates.
.... Mrs Guirous said: “The government is doing nothing to fight Islamic communitarianism and is denying the real causes of radicalisation in France.”
French conservatives argue the new plan “does not even mention” the need to fight proselytism and be more strict about Islamic head coverings, namely the headscarf, which is already banned in state schools.
Mrs Guirous said: “The headscarf is a militant tool used to promote political Islam, it is a sign of religious exhibitionism.
“The government does not understand the way in which French society is evolving and is turning a blind eye to the fact that a worrying number of French Muslims adhere to a strict version of Islam, one which is at odds with the French Republic,” she continued. [Daily Express] Read more
