Conspicuously wearing a religious symbol at school or refusing to be received by an agent of the opposite sex in a public service could be grounds for withdrawing a residence permit if the “immigration” bill is adopted, government spokesperson Olivier Véran argued on Wednesday October 18. “Currently, it is not possible to withdraw a residence permit for behavior that does not constitute a criminal offense, but demonstrates behavior that does not conform to our values,” underlined Mr. Véran during his press briefing at the from the council of ministers.
The spokesperson cited as examples “the conspicuous wearing of religious signs and outfits in schools, which represents 50% of the reports recorded by the Ministry of National Education” or “the refusal to be received or heard at the counters public services by an employee of the opposite sex for religious reasons”.
In his bill which will be debated in November in the Senate, in article 13, the Minister of the Interior proposes to withdraw a residence permit in the event of non-compliance with the principles of the Republic, underlined Mr. Véran.
“Get out of the all-criminal”
This article provides in its first paragraph that “the foreigner who requests a residence document undertakes to respect personal freedom, freedom of expression and conscience, equality between women and men, the dignity of human person, the motto and symbols of the Republic within the meaning of article 2 of the Constitution and not to rely on their beliefs or convictions to free themselves from the common rules governing relations between public services and individuals. .
If the foreigner does not respect this commitment, “any residence document” can be withdrawn, it is written. “It’s about getting away from the all-criminal to be able to withdraw a title by focusing on the values ??of the Republic,” explained Mr. Véran.
“The goal is to ensure that when a foreign person in our country does not respect the values ??of our Republic, by their behavior, by their words (…) the Republic is not forced to keep them on its territory,” he said. he insisted.
