To combat Islamic fundamentalism, the French government has announced a campaign to remind citizens that they are French! I love it! When are we going to be as gutsy as the French? From the Mail thanks to Islam in Action:
France is to adopt a series of measures to ‘reaffirm pride’ in the country and combat Islamic fundamentalism.
They include everybody receiving lessons in the nation’s Christian history and children singing the national anthem.
Using words which infuriated ethnic minority groups and Socialist opponents, immigration minister Eric Besson also said he wanted ‘foreigners to speak better French’.
He called for all recent arrivals to be monitored by ‘Republican godfathers’, charged with helping immigrants to integrate better.
His proposed measures contrast sharply with the situation in Britain where ‘citizenship education’ centres on multicultural diversity.
M Besson, who was born in the former French protectorate of Morocco, suggested a debate on national identity’ entitled ‘What does it mean to be French?’
He also reignited the debate about face and body-covering Muslim veils, saying they should definitely be banned.
As well as providing civic lessons for adults – including classes about the country’s Christian history and liberal political institutions – the government will encourage school children to sing the national anthem at least once a year.
They are deporting Muslims too!
Mr Besson defended a decision to send illegal Afghan immigrants – all of them Muslim – back to Kabul on charter flights organised in conjunction with the British government last week, saying there would be many more.
More than 21,000 people have been deported from France this year – with 27,000 the ultimate target, said Mr Besson.