JURIST - Paper Chase: French rights groups condemn 'racist' immigration bill

[JURIST] Several French human rights groups led by the French League for Human Rights [advocacy website] declared a proposed French immigration bill [JURIST report] racist and a "blatant violation of immigrants' rights" in a joint statement issued Saturday. The proposed legislation calls for placing new restrictions on foreign workers, students, and those who want to join their families in France by requiring immigrants to master the French language and foreign workers to prove that they have fixed salaries. Introduced by Interior Minster Nicolas Sarkozy [BBC profile], the bill has prompted critics to compare the minister to notorious right-wing leader Jean Marie Le Pen. The draft comes in the wake of dissent over a new anti-terrorism law that makes it possible to install cameras on public transport systems and in places of worship, and legislation requiring French schools to recognize the positive aspects of past French colonial history [JURIST report] in North Africa. Islam Online has more.

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