The European Civic Forum is raising the alarm on France. While fundamental freedoms are protected by the law and generally respected, civil liberties have been put under increasing pressure since 2015 following the state of emergency introduced in after the terrorist attacks.
Two laws (Loi pour une sécurité globale, Projet de loi confortant le respect des principes de la République) presented by the French Government at the end 2020 as well as the governmental decisions of dissolving associations and investigating university curricula are reinforcing a systemic threat to freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of beliefs and academic freedom in France. Attacks against organisations fighting discrimination of Muslim people and people considered Muslim have also multiplied in the last months.
To date, the Government is not engaging in meaningful dialogue with civic actors to address concerns expressed in all fora, including online protests and public demonstrations.
Read our country briefing on the latest civic space developments in France.
You can also read our open letter to the European Commission and European Fundamental Rights agency.