London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

5 things to know about France’s bill to combat Islamist radicalism

5 things to know about France’s bill to combat Islamist radicalism

Key points of controversial draft law put forward by Macron’s government.

It’s a French draft law that attracted huge controversy before it was even published — and doesn’t even mention the issue that President Emmanuel Macron says it’s meant to address: “Islamist separatism.”

The concern that Islamist extremists are creating communities and instilling ideas that separate them from the values of the French republic has re-emerged as a major issue in French politics in recent months.

Three deadly attacks by Islamist radicals took place in France over four weeks this fall, triggering a renewed tense public debate about the French strand of secularism, known as laïcité, the place of Islam and individual freedoms. Some critics, particulaly outside France, labeled Macron’s policies “illiberal” — triggering a fierce response from the president and his allies.

Now the bill, originally described as concerning “separatism,” then “separatisms” and now entitled the law “bolstering the respect of the principles of the Republic,” has finally been presented.

In a symbolic move, the government sent the bill to parliament on the 115th anniversary of the 1905 law on the separation of church and state, a cornerstone of the French republic.

Here are five things to know about the bill, which the National Assembly will debate in January, with the possibility of introducing amendments.

1. Telling omissions


Nowhere in the text of the draft law do the words “Islamism” or “separatism” appear — in an apparent attempt to avoid criticism that the bill targets Muslims.

And yet, when asked to give examples of issues that need to be curtailed, Prime Minister Jean Castex only cited behaviors linked to Islamism in an interview with Le Monde previewing the bill on Wednesday, referring to children “refusing to play with non-Muslims” or “reciting [Koranic] surats while closing their ears in music class.”

Furthermore, in his landmark speech on the issue on October 2, Macron said it was important to name things clearly and spoke explicitly of “Islamist separatism.”

And in the document outlining the government’s motives for presenting the bill, “radical Islamism” is the only form of “separatism” explicitly mentioned.

“An insidious but powerful communitarian infiltration is slowly gangrening the foundations of our society in some areas. This infiltration is for the most part of Islamist inspiration,” the document said.

2. Key measures


The bill aims to reinforce the legal tools available to the government to curtail Islamist radicalism from taking hold in French society.

It creates a new criminal offense of threatening public sector employees or using violence to force them to make exceptions to public rules, like coercing local officials to establish separate swimming pool hours for women and men.

It creates another new offense for hate speech that makes it possible to quickly detain a person who spreads on social media the personal information of a public service agent with the intent to harm them — in a direct reaction to the events that led to the beheading of schoolteacher Samuel Paty in October.

The bill also extends what is known in France as the neutrality principle, which prohibits civil servants from wearing ostentatious religious symbols like the Muslim headscarf and voicing political views, beyond public sector employees to all private contractors of public services.

It introduces stricter financial controls on foreign money sent to religious organizations, and stricter controls over religious associations to prevent takeovers by extremists.

The draft legislation restricts the possibility of homeschooling children, introduces tougher punishment for “virginity tests,” and stricter safeguards against forced marriages, as well as more legal tools to ensure men and women inherit equitably. Muslim Sharia law awards men larger inheritances than women.

3. Notable changes


The government had initially planned on including a clause underlining the necessity for each school-aged child to have a national identifying number to make sure all were accounted for, whether attending public schools, private schools or being homeschooled. That clause has disappeared from the text.

The vast majority of pupils already have a national student identifier, but around 2 percent of school-aged students currently do not, according to an official at the ministry of education. The government is still considering introducing an amendment with a technical mechanism to extend coverage to all pupils.

When Macron presented his vision on the fight against “Islamist separatism” in a landmark speech in a Paris suburb on October 2, he struck a balance between legal measures to crack down on extremists and social measures to tackle issues such as the marginalization of some Muslims and others in French society.

But this particular bill is heavily focused on measures to help enforce the law and punish extremist behavior. Socio-economic measures are largely absent, although officials say they will follow.

4. Possible controversies


French officials insist the bill is not aimed at Muslims — but it could still be perceived that way.

“There should be no misunderstandings,” an Elysée official said. “It is in no way an action against a religion. It is not against Islam, it is against people who in the name of a wrong or reconstructed vision of a religion behave in a way contrary to the republic.”

But MPs from La République en Marche, Macron’s party, say they’re thinking about introducing an amendment to the draft with measures to ban parents from having their young daughters wear the headscarf.

The bill also risks hitting people and organizations who are not its intended target.

Forcing parents to seek authorization to homeschool instead of the current system that simply requires them to disclose that they are doing so may provoke a backlash among parents who homeschool.

According to French officials, out of the current 62,000 pupils who are homeschooled nationwide, around 5,000 may be educated in ad-hoc structures that don’t respect the French curriculum or requirements.

And a new reporting requirement for foreign donations of more than €10,000, mainly aimed at curbing cash from Islamists abroad, could hit other small religious associations, like evangelical associations that receive funding from the U.S. or elsewhere.

5. Missing numbers


Virginity tests, forced marriages and homeschooling young children in basements where girls as young as 3 years old are forced to wear the headscarf are some of the main examples that Macron and leading government ministers have brandished as cases of Islamist behaviors contrary to republican values that need to be fought.

But government officials have not been able to provide data to prove that these are problems on any significant scale. They have no figures for the number of virginity tests carried out in France, nor do they have statistics on forced marriage. However, they do say that NGOs put the number of forced marriages in France at 200,000. They have also struggled to quantify how widespread the issue of forcing young girls to wear the headscarf really is.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×