The placard reads "enough of islamophobia" as protesters demonstrate against Emmanuel Macron's 'anti-separatism' bill. AFP
The placard reads "enough of islamophobia" as protesters demonstrate against Emmanuel Macron's 'anti-separatism' bill. AFP
The placard reads "enough of islamophobia" as protesters demonstrate against Emmanuel Macron's 'anti-separatism' bill. AFP
The placard reads "enough of islamophobia" as protesters demonstrate against Emmanuel Macron's 'anti-separatism' bill. AFP

President Emmanuel Macron’s anti-separatism bill could hand support to Marine Le Pen


Colin Randall
  • English
  • Arabic

French President Emmanuel Macron faces growing unease that his campaign against “radical Islam” will backfire and could hand his far-right rival Marine Le Pen an advantage in next year’s elections.

The French Parliament votes on Tuesday on a contentious bill attacking what Mr Macron regards as “Islamist separatism”.

Although the government said it sought to protect core French values and stop extremism taking root, the new law is widely seen by Muslims as being against them.

But while the policy has alienated minorities and frustrated liberals, rekindling claims of state-sponsored “Islamophobia”, the president is struggling to persuade conservative voters he needs for re-election that his approach will work.

Polls suggested that voters overwhelmingly agree on the importance of the issue but show Mr Macron lagging behind Ms Le Pen when electors are asked who they trust to handle it.

Marine Le Pen's party is running neck and neck with Mr Macron. AFP
Marine Le Pen's party is running neck and neck with Mr Macron. AFP

“The problem is that the farther you extend your reach towards the far right, the more the far right progresses,” said Ugo Palheta, a sociologist, author and lecturer at Lille University.

At one point in a televised debate with Ms Le Pen last week, Mr Macron’s hardline Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin, caused surprise by suggesting she was softer on separatism than the government.

“This debate signals once again that Mr Macron’s majority, which is currently losing dominance, is trying to recuperate momentum by gaining the support of the far right,” Mr Palheta told France 24 television.

But there was now a “real possibility” of a win for Ms Le Pen in 2022, he said.

The left-wing newspaper Liberation  quoted a prominent but unidentified supporter of Mr Macron as saying the president "clearly has a second-round problem".

It was a reference to a repeat of the 2017 Macron-Le Pen run-off increasingly predicted for next year’s race for the Elysee Palace.

“How can we continue to stick the extreme right label on Le Pen when a minister is proud to be harder than her on questions of Islam and immigration?” the paper asked.

Ms Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie, founder of their National Rally party (formerly the Front National) was humiliated by the centre-right Jacques Chirac in the 2002 presidential election, winning only 18 per cent of the vote.

Mr Macron won comfortably in 2017, although Ms Le Pen attracted 34 per cent, or 10.6 million votes.

Now, she is running neck and neck with Mr Macron after working relentlessly to “de-demonise” her party’s image without weakening its central anti-Islamism, anti-immigration message.

Raberh Achi, a political scientist, told The National  that Mr Macron's government had adopted a "purely repressive" posture in its approach to separatism.

Mr Achi said that this was the first time a government had tampered with France’s keystone law of 1905, separating church and state “in an anti-liberal sense”.

“This bill allows the executive to occupy the political space that goes from the traditional right to the extreme right,” he said.

The comments reinforced his attack on Mr Macron's policies in the daily newspaper Le Monde,  accusing the president of fighting "a deadly ideology which claims to be Islamic" with unjustified curbs on the freedom of association.

In the toughest measure of the new law, MPs have voted to make it a criminal offence, punishable by up to five years in jail, fines or expulsion, to threaten or intimidate a public official in support of demands for separate treatment.

The beheading by a Chechen refugee of Samuel Paty, a history teacher, outside his school last October also led to the forced closure of some Muslim groups accused of supporting extremism.

France's Muslim federations agreed to a new charter of principles requested by Mr Macron as part of his reforms.

But the draft law, which is likely to win the approval of both houses and has been debated by Parliament in recent weeks, has been damned by some as trampling on religious freedom.

About 150 people protested near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Sunday, calling for the bill to be scrapped.

The legislation before Parliament, which seeks to ensure that extremists do not infiltrate public institutions, is called the anti-separatism bill because ministers fear some communities are separate from France's staunchly secular identity.

The government said it would strengthen France's secular system.

Tuesday’s vote will focus on plans to ban doctors from issuing virginity certificates. Laws against polygamy and forced marriage will be strengthened.

The bill includes restrictions on home schooling and extends a ban on wearing religious symbols by civil servants to all public sector workers.

In an effort to protect children from indoctrination and do away with underground schools, the text requires all children from age 3 to attend a regular school.

Among other key points, the bill aims to keep a close watch on associations including those that often run mosques.

Measures include one aimed at ensuring that outsiders cannot take control of an association.

But critics said that the authorities already had powers to fight abuse.

Ms Le Pen has problems of her own. She appeared in court last week charged with illegally distributing images of ISIS atrocities. A verdict is expected in May.

She also faces prosecution over EU funds allegedly diverted to pay party staff.

By portraying herself as the victim of politically motivated proceedings, Ms Le Pen calculates her traditional support will remain resilient.

Her chances of becoming France’s first female president would then depend on attracting conservative voters unconvinced by Mr Macron.

He served in France’s last socialist administration before launching his own centrist party, La Republique en Marche.

Mr Macron’s bill was renamed to remove the word “separatism” in favour of “reinforcing republican principles”.

But he is determined to reform the way Islam is organised in France, freeing the faith from foreign influence, ending reliance on imams trained overseas and limiting funding of religious associations to those committed to republican values.

Mr Macron’s opponents said he was gambling on winning right-wing support for his measures on extremism, diverting attention from his handling of the coronavirus.

Mr Achi expected the president’s campaign to highlight his economic response to the pandemic, minimise the “fiasco” on supply of masks and slowness of France’s vaccination programme and focus on sovereign issues, Islam and secularism.

The biog

Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi

Age: 23

How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them

Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need

Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman

Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs 

Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWest%20Asia%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Bahrain%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%201%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%202%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%20III%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDubai%20Sevens%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

The Al Barzakh Festival takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm in the Red Theatre, NYUAD, Saadiyat Island. Tickets cost Dh105 for adults from platinumlist.net

Which honey takes your fancy?

Al Ghaf Honey

The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year

Sidr Honey

The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest

Samar Honey

The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments

SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206-cylinder%203-litre%2C%20with%20petrol%20and%20diesel%20variants%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20automatic%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20286hp%20(petrol)%2C%20249hp%20(diesel)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E450Nm%20(petrol)%2C%20550Nm%20(diesel)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EStarting%20at%20%2469%2C800%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics