SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The Palais Bourbon, where the National Assembly meets.
(Photo: Ammar Abd Rabbo/flickr/cc)
France Extends Freedom-Threatening State of Emergency
Threats to freedoms as a result of the increase in state powers have been widely rebuked by human rights and civil liberties watchdogs.
Feb 17, 2016
Despite widespread criticism over its threats to fundamental rights, French lawmakers on Tuesday voted to extend the state of emergency for an additional three months.
The 212 to 31 vote by the National Assembly extends the powers imposed following the November terrorist attacks until May 26.
The powers afforded by the state of emergency allow as the New York Timesreports, "police to conduct raids of homes, businesses, associations and places of worship without judicial review and at any time. The police can place people under house arrest even if they do not have sufficient evidence of wrongdoing to detain or charge them."
"Our country is confronted with a terrorist threat more serious than any in our history," French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told lawmakers Tuesday.
Yet, as the Times adds, the new powers have not been effective. "Less than 1 percent of raids have resulted in new terrorism investigations, the Interior Ministry acknowledges."
Human rights and civil liberties watchdogs have widely rebuked the threats to freedoms due to increased state powers.
In reports released earlier this month, for example, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch found that the sweeping new powers have been used in ways that have not only failed to uphold the rights of men, women, and children but have also been traumatizing.
"France has a responsibility to ensure public safety and try to prevent further attacks, but the police have used their new emergency powers in abusive, discriminatory, and unjustified ways," said Izza Leghtas, Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch. "This abuse has traumatized families and tarnished reputations, leaving targets feeling like second-class citizens."
As for how long the state of emergency could eventually continue, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in January that it might be "as long as is necessary" due to the threat from the Islamic State, adding, "It is a total and global war that we are facing with terrorism ... The war we are conducting must also be total, global, and ruthless."
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
amnesty internationalcivil libertiesfrancehuman rightshuman rights watchin wake of parisislamic statestate of emergencywar on terror
Despite widespread criticism over its threats to fundamental rights, French lawmakers on Tuesday voted to extend the state of emergency for an additional three months.
The 212 to 31 vote by the National Assembly extends the powers imposed following the November terrorist attacks until May 26.
The powers afforded by the state of emergency allow as the New York Timesreports, "police to conduct raids of homes, businesses, associations and places of worship without judicial review and at any time. The police can place people under house arrest even if they do not have sufficient evidence of wrongdoing to detain or charge them."
"Our country is confronted with a terrorist threat more serious than any in our history," French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told lawmakers Tuesday.
Yet, as the Times adds, the new powers have not been effective. "Less than 1 percent of raids have resulted in new terrorism investigations, the Interior Ministry acknowledges."
Human rights and civil liberties watchdogs have widely rebuked the threats to freedoms due to increased state powers.
In reports released earlier this month, for example, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch found that the sweeping new powers have been used in ways that have not only failed to uphold the rights of men, women, and children but have also been traumatizing.
"France has a responsibility to ensure public safety and try to prevent further attacks, but the police have used their new emergency powers in abusive, discriminatory, and unjustified ways," said Izza Leghtas, Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch. "This abuse has traumatized families and tarnished reputations, leaving targets feeling like second-class citizens."
As for how long the state of emergency could eventually continue, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in January that it might be "as long as is necessary" due to the threat from the Islamic State, adding, "It is a total and global war that we are facing with terrorism ... The war we are conducting must also be total, global, and ruthless."
Despite widespread criticism over its threats to fundamental rights, French lawmakers on Tuesday voted to extend the state of emergency for an additional three months.
The 212 to 31 vote by the National Assembly extends the powers imposed following the November terrorist attacks until May 26.
The powers afforded by the state of emergency allow as the New York Timesreports, "police to conduct raids of homes, businesses, associations and places of worship without judicial review and at any time. The police can place people under house arrest even if they do not have sufficient evidence of wrongdoing to detain or charge them."
"Our country is confronted with a terrorist threat more serious than any in our history," French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told lawmakers Tuesday.
Yet, as the Times adds, the new powers have not been effective. "Less than 1 percent of raids have resulted in new terrorism investigations, the Interior Ministry acknowledges."
Human rights and civil liberties watchdogs have widely rebuked the threats to freedoms due to increased state powers.
In reports released earlier this month, for example, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch found that the sweeping new powers have been used in ways that have not only failed to uphold the rights of men, women, and children but have also been traumatizing.
"France has a responsibility to ensure public safety and try to prevent further attacks, but the police have used their new emergency powers in abusive, discriminatory, and unjustified ways," said Izza Leghtas, Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch. "This abuse has traumatized families and tarnished reputations, leaving targets feeling like second-class citizens."
As for how long the state of emergency could eventually continue, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in January that it might be "as long as is necessary" due to the threat from the Islamic State, adding, "It is a total and global war that we are facing with terrorism ... The war we are conducting must also be total, global, and ruthless."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.