Macron demands action against threat of Islamist extremism
Emmanuel Macron has demanded action to stop the growing influence of Islamist extremism in France in a tense security meeting.
The French president ordered his government to act after a report declared the Muslim Brotherhood movement 'a threat to national cohesion', saying it aimed to destabilise the country through 're-Islamisation'.
'Given the importance of the subject and the seriousness of the facts established, he has asked the government to draw up new proposals that will be examined at a forthcoming defence council meeting in early June,' the Elysee Palace said.
In a rare move, Mr Macron said he would also make the findings of the report public by the end of the week.
Separately, Gabriel Attal, the secretary general of the president's Renaissance party, is poised to propose banning minors under the age of 15 from wearing the Muslim headscarf in public spaces.
The party says the hijab 'seriously undermines gender equality and the protection of children'.
Under Mr Attal's proposals, parents who force their underage daughters to wear the veil would face criminal charges.
The report into the Muslim Brotherhood movement, founded in Egypt in 1928, was commissioned by the French government and prepared by two senior civil servants.
It 'clearly establishes the anti-republican and subversive nature of the Muslim Brotherhood' and 'proposes ways to address this threat', the presidency said ahead of the meeting.
Authorities are eager to prevent any spread of extremist Islamist ideas in a country that has been rocked by a string of deadly jihadist attacks.
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded with the aim of recreating a unified state for all Muslims governed by Islamic law.
Earlier this year, the United Arab Emirates placed 11 individuals and eight British-based entities on its terrorism list for alleged affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, which it designates as a terrorist organisation. Britain has not outlawed the movement.
Report findings draw criticism
Attendees of the security meeting, which included several of Mr Macron's ministers in foreign affairs, finance, national education and sports, told French media that the atmosphere was tense.
They said the president chided his ministers for allowing the report to be leaked to the press, notably to Le Figaro, which released excerpts on Tuesday.
'President Macron was not at all happy with the leaks and made this known,' an unnamed participant told BFMTV, a French news channel.
The findings drew criticism from Mr Macron's political rivals, with Marine Le Pen, the hard-Right leader, accusing the government of not going far enough to 'eradicate Islamist fundamentalism'.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the hard-Left leader, said that 'Islamophobia has crossed a line'.
The report identifies the group Muslims of France as the national branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Federation of Muslims of France denounced as 'unfounded accusations' and warned against 'dangerous' conflation between Islam and radicalism.
'We firmly reject any allegation that attempts to associate us with a foreign political project or an 'entryism' strategy,' said Muslims of France, warning against 'a stigmatisation of Islam and Muslims'.
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