The French parliament on Thursday endorsed a resolution for the European Union to list the Muslim Brotherhood as a terror organisation, according to media reports.
The vote was described by broadcaster CNews as a “victory” for the right-wing political party Les Republicains. It was adopted with 157 votes for and 101 against.
This is “the beginning of the fight”, Les Republicains' leader Laurent Wauquiez said, after a heated debated on the topic with leftist party France Unbowed.
The text, published on the National Assembly's website, described the Muslim Brotherhood, which has its roots in Egypt, as a threat to European values. It highlighted that it had been recently banned by Jordan and that restrictive measures have also been applied to the group in Egypt, Russia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
The text said it “strongly emphasises that the Muslim Brotherhood movement constitutes a global ideological threat to the fundamental principles of the EU, in that it advocates a politico-religious separatism based on the challenge to the sovereignty of civil laws.”
It called on the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, and the European council, where heads of state of the bloc of 27 meet, “to undertake a legal and factual assessment of the transnational network of the Muslim Brotherhood, its ramifications in Europe and its methods of operation.”
It also “invites the commission to submit to the council a proposal to include the Muslim Brotherhood movement and its leaders on the European list of terrorist organisations, in view of its subversive ideology, its support for terrorist entities such as Hamas, its calls for hatred and its covert actions against democratic institutions.”
The French government has expressed concern over the Muslim Brotherhood's alleged ability to influence the upcoming municipal elections in France.
Senior officials have been encouraged to notify prosecutors in case of suspicions that civil servants may be close to the group and multiple investigations have been opened in the past months.
In July, the government launched a new strategy to tackle the Muslim Brotherhood's influence in France, including the disbanding of endowment funds and a new asset-freeze mechanism.
This came after two former senior officials wrote a 74-page report at the request of the Interior Ministry that called for more action against the Muslim Brotherhood.
“The reality of this threat, even if it is long-term and does not involve violent action, poses a risk of damage to the fabric of society and republican institutions … and, more broadly, to national cohesion,” it said of the Muslim Brotherhood.
It estimated the group has a dedicated following with a “few hundred members in France”.
