Adopting “anti-separatist” law, Macron moves to censor French universities
On February 16, the National Assembly approved President Emmanuel Macron’s “anti-separatist” law, also known as the law “to strengthen respect for the principles of the Republic.” By imposing strict state control of the Muslim faith and a principle of collective responsibility on associations and political parties in order to facilitate their rapid banning by the police, the law aims to effect a drastic and reactionary transformation of social and political life.
Macron with French Army Chief of Staff General Pierre de Villiers in 2017 [Credit: Etienne Laurent/Pool Photo via AP, File]
France’s minister for higher education says she has called for an assessment of all research currently underway in France, to ascertain whether supposedly academic work is sometimes a cover for activ…
PARIS: The French minister for higher education has sparked a backlash from university heads after warning about the spread of “Islamo-leftism” in the country’s academic institutions.
The term “Islamo-leftism” is often used in France by far-right politicians to discredit left-wing opponents they accuse of being blind to the dangers of Islamist extremism and overly worried about racism and identity.
“I think that Islamo-leftism is eating away at our society as a whole, and universities are not immune and are part of our society,” Minister for Higher Education Frederique Vidal told CNews television on Sunday.
The comments came amid a divisive debate in France about what President Emmanuel Macron has termed “Islamist separatism,” in which Islamists are said to be flouting French laws in closed-off Muslim communities and fuelling terror attacks on French soil.