The situation in grim in France...

Islamophobia has a long mainstream history, but the Macron government with its "law on separatism" has managed to make it a lot worse still

Reactionary cowards fill the assembly and far too few left voices are heard fighting back 1/

As always, reactionaries are trying to hide their racism under a veneer of universalism, pretending their laws are for all French people

But the veneer is ever thinner and the 'voile' is everywhere in the debate, as it was ahead of the 2004 law 2/

It's worth remembering that Le Pen's Rassemblement National has 'only' 7MPs out of 577 in the National Assembly

You do not need the far right in power to enact far right laws, policies and politics 3/

Muslim communities and anyone loosely associated are great scapegoats and diversion for parties which have failed to address the many crises France has been grappling with for decades

It's cynical and criminal considering the impact on those at the sharp end 4/

Next year's presidential election will be contested by sheds of Islamophobes, from Macron's LREM to Le Pen's RN, with a divided left, part of which has often be too weak and even complicit in reactionary turn

Very very grim... 4/

If you read French, this is a great article that explains the latest debates, how bad things are and the cowardice and hypocrisy behind such politics

(If you can afford it, then you should also subscribe to Mediapart) https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/france/050221/loi-separatisme-l-unisson-lr-s-enflamme-sur-l-islam-et-piege-la-majorite?onglet=full

*is (argh)