Controversial anti-terrorism bill passes first reading in French parliament

The French National Assembly has voted in favour of a bill intended to reinforce anti-terrorism and intelligence-gathering legislation, by incorporating emergency regulations into regular law. The bill will now be examined by the upper house, the Senate.

French right-wing Les Républicains party MP Eric Ciotti thinks the proposed law represents "a missed chance". AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN

There were 87 votes in favour, 10 against, and four abstentions.

The government has welcomed the outcome, saying the proposed legislation strengthens the legal arsenal against terrorism, while protecting individual rights and freedoms.

Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti says "terrorism is changing like some foul virus. It's to be expected that the law will adapt to those changes."

The opposition right-wing Républicans, who had called for tougher measures during this week's debate on the bill, finally voted in favour "in a spirit of responsibility". One of their MPs, Eric Ciotti, nonetheless regretted that "a chance has been missed".

On the political left, the hard-line France Unbowed party tried to have the final vote abandoned, claiming that the legislations is "part of a gradual slide towards an ever more authoritarian regime".

Socialist deputies questioned the usefulness of the proposed law, but party members were given no instructions on how to vote.

Emergency rules to become common law

If finally passed and approved by the Constitutional Court, the ant-terrorism provisions will include four emergency regulations as full parts of common law.

The measures concern the establishment of security zones, the closure of religious establishments, the supervision of former prisoners freed after serving full terms for terrorist crimes, and the right of the police to enter private homes.

All have been in effect since the state of emergency was declared in France following a series of terrorist attacks in November 2015.

Critics suggest that the legislation is unfair in the treatment proposed for those released after serving sentences for terrorist crimes.

The French Constitutional Court, which ensures that legislation does not infringe the republican constitution, has already rejected an earlier bill because of the unfair treatment reserved for some categories of prisoners.

The latest bill proposes that former terrorists will be subject to special conditions of police supervision for 24 months after their release. Such individuals would, for example, be forbidden from attending events at which the risk of terrorism was considered to be high.

Several deputies questioned the legality of imposing such restrictions on people who have committed no crime.

Eric Ciotti criticised the legislation as weak in the face of the threat posed, claiming that "human bombs would be unleashed form the prisons". He has called for a change to the French constitution to enable the adoption of tougher rules for former terrorists.