\n France's justice minister said on Monday that he was \"resolutely opposed\" to a bill aimed at removing \"apology for terrorism\" from the criminal code, a move that has attracted condemnation across the political spectrum.\n<\/p>\n
\n The hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) proposal aims to axe a provision criminalising acts defending or positively portraying terrorist acts from the country's penal code.\n<\/p>\n
\n The law was part of an 1881 press law until it was added to the criminal code in 2014, as France saw a stream of its citizens travelling to Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State jihadist group.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"I don't understand how we can let our guard down in the face of the threat of terrorism, which is very present today,\" Justice Minister Didier Migaud told France 2 television.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Freedom of expression has never allowed everything. There are limits,\" he added.\n<\/p>\n
\n But for LFI, the \"apology for terrorism\" offence does not belong in France's penal code.\n<\/p>\n
\n The text introduced by LFI lawmaker Ugo Bernalicis argued that the 1881 law -- which covers apology for crime, war crimes and crimes against humanity -- is sufficient.\n<\/p>\n
\n France Unbowed wants to put the offence \"back in the right place\", parliamentary party leader Mathilde Panot said Sunday.\n<\/p>\n
\n Panot and an LFI representative in the European Parliament, Rima Hassan, were investigated for \"apology for terrorism\" in April over a statement about the conflict between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip.\n<\/p>\n
\n LFI figures have repeatedly been accused of anti-Semitism and backing Hamas, which is designated as a terror group by the EU and US, after its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The party has denied the charges.\n<\/p>\n
\n The proposal is getting pushback from both sides of the political divide, with Socialist party boss Olivier Faure and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau criticising the bill.\n<\/p>\n
\n Faure said while it is \"imperative to protect civil liberties\", France must also \"protect the French people from fanaticism and calls for violence and hatred\".\n<\/p>\n
\n Staunch conservative Retailleau called the LFI proposal \"unspeakable\" and said the political left should \"dissociate\" itself from France Unbowed.\n<\/p>\n
\n For his part, Migaud said, \"apology makes it possible to justify and excuse... a terrorist act\", adding that this \"must be fought with the greatest force\".<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
France's justice minister said on Monday that he was \"resolutely opposed\" to a bill aimed at removing \"apology for terrorism\" from the criminal code, a move that has attracted condemnation across the political spectrum. The hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) proposal aims to axe a provision criminalising acts defending or positively portraying terrorist acts from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-138756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n