François Hollande denounces the suppression of the offense of apologizing for terrorism wanted by LFI

Frying on the line within the New Popular Front (NFP). While the LFI deputy from the North Ugo Bernalicis tabled on Tuesday with his rebellious colleagues a bill aimed at repealing the offense of glorifying terrorism from the Penal Code – introduced in 2014 -, on the grounds that it has accentuated “the instrumentalization of the fight against terrorism” against the “freedom of expression”, the left is once again fracturing against the backdrop of conflict in the Middle East. Since Saturday, it is mainly the socialists who are distancing themselves from their Mélenchonist partners.

After the first secretary of the PS Olivier Faure who judges “imperative to protect public freedoms” while calling for the same to be done with regard to “fanaticism and calls for violence and hatred”now François Hollande is coming out of the woods. The leader of the LFI deputies Mathilde Panot may have affirmed on Sunday noon on BFMTV that she wanted “to put back” the crime “in the right place” by removing it from the penal code in favor of the right of the press, the former President of the Republic claims to the Parisian that the article of the law, passed under his mandate, “does not call into question freedom of expression since it explicitly refers to press law and leaves the courts a discretion.”

Faced with the Insoumis, who believe that “the law of July 29, 1881 dealing with facts relating to the offenses of apologizing for a crime, apologizing for a war crime, apologizing for a crime against humanity” enough in this matter, the PS deputy from Corrèze blurts out: “LFI’s initiative is doubly reprehensible”.

“Provocative and hateful purposes”

The LFI figures being accused of ambiguity with regard to Hamas, which they still refuse to qualify as a terrorist movement, and of blowing on the embers of anti-Semitism in France, François Hollande castigates a text which on the one hand “creates confusion to better exonerate from their responsibilities personalities who, through their comments, use the Palestinian cause for provocative and hateful purposes.” And on the other “hits the victims of terrorism who, in their flesh, painfully experience any relaxation of the duty of vigilance and national cohesion.”

Together with the former head of state whom he served as Minister of the Interior and then Prime Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve also condemns the reform desired by the Insoumis. “To say that a law penalizing provocation of anti-Semitism is an attack on freedom of expression is to establish the principle that freedom of expression can be used to spread hatred everywhere in the public space. anti-Semitic”squeaks the founder of the “La convention” movement regarding the 2014 law that bears his name.