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François Hollande drops plan to revoke citizenship of dual-national terrorists François Hollande drops plan to revoke citizenship of dual-national terrorists
(35 minutes later)
France’s president has said he will not push ahead with plans to change the constitution, including a clause allowing convicted terrorists with dual nationality to be stripped of their French citizenship, after parliament failed to agree on the measure. French president François Hollande has scrapped plans to strip convicted terrorists with dual nationality of their French passports and deport them.
“A compromise appears out of reach on the stripping of terrorists’ nationality,” François Hollande said after a weekly cabinet meeting. “Parts of the opposition have been hostile to a revision of the constitution. I deplore this attitude. I have decided to end this debate.” The controversial proposal, which was to be enshrined in France’s constitution, had deeply split his own Socialist government and was opposed by the centre right opposition.
The plan’s withdrawal is a major embarrassment for the Socialist president, who had unveiled it in a solemn address to parliament at the grand palace of Versailles only three days after Islamist militants killed 130 people in Paris. Hollande was accused of betraying the principles of the republic.
The proposal to revoke the citizenship of convicted terrorists who had dual nationalities had prompted a heated political dispute in France, with the far right applauding the move and some on the left expressing indignation at what they called a divisive measure. It led to the December resignation of the justice minister, Christiane Taubira, who tweeted afterwards: “Sometimes to resist is to stay. Sometimes to resist is to leave”.
Opponents said it would create two classes of citizens: dual nationals who could lose their French citizenship and French citizens who cannot, in opposition to the principle of equality set out in France’s constitution. The move was suggested in the hours after the 13 November terrorist attacks in Paris that left 130 dead and hundreds injured.
Hollande’s plan to insert the rules for the state of emergency in the constitution was also abandoned. Hollande also wanted to enshrine the state of emergency and its special powers brought in after the attacks in the constitution.
More details soon … However, the president was forced to abandon the idea on Thursday after meeting the heads of both houses of the French parliament, the Assemblée Nationale and the Sénat.
“A compromise appears out of reach,” Hollande said. He sought to blame the main opposition party, Les Républicains, led by former president Nicolas Sarkozy.
“I also note that a section of the opposition is hostile to any review of the constitution. It’s an attitude I deeply regret,” Hollande added.
Hollande added that he would not deviate from commitments to “ensure the security of our country”.
Any changes to France’s constitution must be approved by three-fifths of French MPs and senators. A special Congress of Versailles of all parliament members was due to consider the issue next month, but will now be cancelled.
The defeat is a bitter blow to Hollande, who is facing disastrous poll ratings in the run up to next year’s presidential election.
Human rights organisations accused the government of a post-November kneejerk reaction and said the move to remove French nationality from convicted terrorists would be unconstitutional in creating two different classes of French citizenship. They also warned it risked pushing vulnerable youngsters with North African roots towards extremism.
Under current French law nobody can be stripped of their French nationality if it would leave them stateless, but those who have acquired French citizenship and are convicted of treason or terrorism can lose it. The measure has only been applied to 13 naturalised people with terrorism convictions since 1996.
Hollande’s proposal would have enlarged the punitive measure to those with dual nationality who were born in France.