French government prepares new Islam Foundation as burkini row rumbles on
A law to ban the burkini throughout France would be unconstitutional, according to Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve who met Muslim leaders on Monday to discuss the creation of a national body to further integrate Islam in France.
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A law to forbid the wearing of burkini would be "unconstitutional, ineffective and likely to create antagonism and irreparable tension", Cazeneuve told Monday'sLa Croix newspaper in an interview that covered his plans to set up a "Foundation for the Islam of France".
Last Friday, in a test case, the Council of State ruled that one of the 31 local council's ban of the swimsuit was a "violation of fundamental freedoms".
But, Cazeneuve added, "Muslims must continue to engage with us over gender equality, the inviolable nature of the principles of the French Republic and tolerance in order to live together".
Former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who hopes to stand for the presidency again next year, responded with a call to amend the constitution.
"What is freedom where there is the tyranny of minorities?" he asked in an interview with RTL radio. "What is creating tension is the absence of authority in our country. It's the absence of rules, the climate of chaos, it's fear."
Hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon won applause at a campaign rally when he mocked "hypocrites" who "defend human rights without having defended them in the past", pointing to Sarkozy's and current President François Hollande's friendly relations with the Saudi ruling family.
State-sponsored Islamic foundation to be set up
Cazeneuve met Muslim leaders on Monday to discuss the establishment of the proposed foundation, which is part of the government's response to the terror attacks that have hit the country over the last two years.
"This positive episode will put an end to the nauseating sequence of the burkini," commented Anouar Kbibech of the CFCM grouping of Islamic bodies.
The government hopes the body will root out hardline Islamists linked to jihadi violence and strengthen French Muslims - the great majority, according to Cazeneuve - who are loyal to the "values of the republic".
A secular arm will encourage cultural projects and better training in "Islamology" for imams in the country's universities, while a body run by religious figures will work on the financing of mosques.
It will be forbidden from accepting finance from outside the European Union, these sources being judged lacking in transparency with some of the Gulf states accused of financing radical mullahs.
About 15 percent of funding currently comes for non-EU sources - Algeria pays two million euros a year to the Paris mosque, for example - and it will not be banned outright.
President proves controversial
The foundation, which will be headed by an executive of 11 members, including representatives of the CFCM, the government and other bodies, has already run into controversy with the nomination of a non-Muslim, former interior minister Jean-Pierre Chévènement, as its president.
Pointing out that Chévènement tried to set up a similar body when he was minister, Cazeneuve said his appointment was "symbolic" because "the new body will be the bridge between the republic and the Muslims of France".
To read our coverage of France's burka ban click here
To read our coverage of last year's Paris attacks click here
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