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Hollande draws flak over plans to strip terrorists of French citizenship
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President Francois Hollande鈥檚 call for convicted terrorists to lose their French citizenship if they have a second nationality has triggered uproar among those who see him adopting right-wing ideas that recall dark moments in France鈥檚 history.
Ever since the French Revolution in the late 1700s, 鈥渓e droit du sol鈥 (鈥渢he right of the soil鈥) has been a fundamental principle, giving everyone born in the country the right to citizenship. But in the aftermath of November鈥檚 jihadist attacks in Paris, Hollande announced to an extraordinary session of both houses of parliament that he would seek changes to the constitution so that dual-nationals could be stripped of their French passport.
Patrick Weil, a political scientist who met Hollande and advised him against the decision, said France would become 鈥渢he first democracy in the world鈥 to enshrine in its constitution the principle of unequal treatment of dual nationals.
鈥淚t introduces the idea of a different penalty for the same act, just because of the random chance of their birth,鈥 said Weil, who teaches at Yale University in the United States.
鈥淭hat people, who sometimes don鈥檛 even know they have a second nationality, can be banned is like the return of banishment as a penalty.鈥
For many in Hollande鈥檚 Socialist party, and others on the left of French politics, the move is little short of ideological treason. 鈥淚n wanting to steal the thunder of the far right, we risk implementing their program,鈥 said Cecile Duflot, a former minister in Hollande鈥檚 government.
Economist Thomas Piketty, author of the book on inequality, 鈥淐apital in the 21st Century鈥, wrote, 鈥淭o its economic incompetence, the government has now added infamy.鈥
As well as breaking a legal principle, the measure also touches a raw nerve from France鈥檚 history, say critics.
The Vichy regime, which collaborated with the Nazis in the 1940s, stripped thousands of Jews and foreigners of French citizenship during World War II. Dissenters say Hollande has borrowed from the playbook of the right wing, not least since the treatment of immigrants was one of the few areas where there was clear daylight between the two mainstream parties.?
When Nicolas Sarkozy raised the idea of removing the 鈥渄roit du sol鈥 from some types of violent criminals in 2011, he was blasted by the Socialists.
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