Emmanuel Macron Is Using His Cache and Acts against the Freedom of Expression for Journalists and Muslims - He Has Become a ‘Big Brother’ Now
By
Abdennour Toumi
DEC 29,
2020
When
Emmanuel Macron was elected as French president in May 2017, French people
compared him to former U.S. President Barack Obama in terms of elegance and
eloquence. However, there were some odd remnants of domestic, foreign and
defence policy elements that have been criticized as the worst ever in the
fifth republic. Those policies, including particularly the Mali and Libya military
operations, were linked to former French presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and
Francois Hollande.
There are
growing problems in socioeconomic reforms and migrant policies. The bad
handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has become a nightmare for the Macron
administration and the French public.
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Also Read: In the Wake of Killings in France,
Some Questions to Fellow Muslims
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In 2017,
the majority of the French voters chose Macron, hoping for a change and to make
the country a better place to live in. Yet Macron's partisan strategy and his
narcissism are making his presidency unpopular. His handling of the liberal
media and protests that began in 2018 has also been terrible.
Macron’s
domestic security policy could be read in the same paranoid vein as that of
former U.S. President George W. Bush. Recent political turmoil at the Elysee
Palace that increased with controversial bills is yet another crisis for
Macron.
Thousands
protested against a proposed law to ban police images and increase
surveillance. The bill has drawn condemnation from civil rights activists and
journalist groups, as well as the European Union and the United Nations. The
security bill gives authorities, specifically the police, extra powers. It
would ban the publication of pictures of police officers in certain
circumstances and allow greater use of surveillance drones.
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Muslims In Europe Should Reshape Their
Approach Towards The People Of The Book
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Among many
other elements of the proposed legislation that could limit human rights is
Article 22, which authorizes the use of surveillance drones in the name of
security and the fight against terrorism. This has serious implications for the
right to privacy, the freedom to gather peacefully and for freedom of
expression in the country.
Why So
Critical?
Last month,
four French police officers were charged with assaulting black music producer
Michel Zecler while hurling racial epithets at him. The footage of the incident
went viral at a time when many in France feared the proposed security law would
be used to cover up future cases of police brutality.
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Also Read:
Blasphemy, Islam and Free Speech
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Last
October, the murders of a French teacher and of three worshipers in the
cathedral in the city of Nice were shocking. The French government attempted to
accelerate the bill just like the Bush administration did in the aftermath of
the 9/11 terrorist attacks. However, rather than finding a solution to prevent
such attacks, he presented a bill that would bring unrelated bans.
In the past
weeks, more than 70 mosques were closed and the phone lines of some Muslim
community leaders were wiretapped. That raises the question, is Macron is
targeting Muslims in the country?
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Also Read:
Islam and Free
Speech: A Reply to A. Faizur Rahman
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There is
public outrage, and liberal media outlets like the online investigative paper
Mediapart are calling for French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and the
Paris police chief to resign. The liberal media believes Darmanin went too far
in his actions, just like Bush’s Attorney General Alberto Gonzales spied on
Americans and Muslim communities.
Liberal
media is fond of the rhetoric that governments track phone calls and violate
human rights. However, that’s not the case in France.
Paranoia
of Re-Election
What
happened to Macron? His honeymoon with the press didn't last too long. Macron
also faced a great crisis when one of his top security aides was filmed
assaulting protesters on May Day in 2018.
At that
moment, Macron’s relationship with the media was really bad. Yet this
democratic exercise reflects the healthy political process in France. What did
the Macron administration not get from this exercise?
Transparency
does not mean that executive power has authority over journalists and minority
rights. Macron should know better. But his obsession to get reelected in 2022
has made him forget the French principles of liberty.
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Last week,
French Prime Minister Jean Castex’s cabinet proposed a bill to deny access to
public transportation as well as certain activities to those who are unable to
prove that they received a “preventative coronavirus treatment.”
The drafted
bill had been harshly denounced by the far-right National Rally (RN) and the
left parties. The criticism led to the withdrawal of the drafted bill.
Castex has
now presented a bill establishing a health emergency management regime,
including an article allowing certain freedoms related to the administration of
a vaccine.
In the
unprecedented year of multidimensional crises, Macron is at his best using his
cache and acts against the freedom of expression for journalists, minorities
and more. He has become a "big brother" now.
-----
Abdennour
Toumi is North Africa expert at the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies
(ORSAM)
Original
Headline: Macron, French media and Muslims: Big brother is watching
Source: The Daily Sabah
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-west/emmanuel-macron-using-his-cache/d/123911
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