Rapport américain sur les droits de l'homme en France

30 juillet 2012
Rapport du secrétariat d'Etat américain sur la situation des droits de l'homme en France.

http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2011/eur/192809.htm

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
2011 Report on International Religious Freedom

The government did not demonstrate a trend toward either improvement or deterioration in respect for and protection of the right to religious freedom. Some laws and policies, however, restrict religious expression in public and others provide for monitoring of minority religious group activities. In April the government implemented a law adopted in 2010 prohibiting the covering of one’s face in public. [...]

There were reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice; however, prominent societal leaders took positive steps to promote religious freedom. [...]

On April 11, the government implemented a law approved in 2010 prohibiting the covering of one’s face in public. Although not explicitly stated in the law, it is widely recognized that it is intended to prohibit Muslim women from wearing the burqa or niqab. On March 31, before implementation of the law, Interior Minister Claude Gueant issued a circular providing instruction to police and Interior Ministry officials on the enforcement of the new law. According to the circular, police are only to enforce the law in public places, including public transportation, government buildings, and other public spaces such as restaurants and movie theatres. The circular specifically instructed police not to enforce the law in private locations, or around places of worship, where the law’s application would unduly interfere with the free exercise of religion. If the police encounter someone in a public space wearing a face covering garment such as a mask or burqa, they are instructed to ask the individual to remove it to verify the individual’s identity. Police officials are not allowed to remove it themselves. If individuals refuse to remove the garment, police may detain them and take them to the local police station to verify their identity. However, an individual may not be questioned or held for more than four hours. [...]

On August 1 a police investigation was opened in Nice after assailants illegally relabeled three street signs near a mosque overnight on the first day of Ramadan. The streets were renamed “rue de la Lapidation” (Street of Stoning), “rue des Freres musulmans” (Street of the Muslim Brotherhood) and “rue de la Burqa” (Street of the Burqa). [...]

http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2011/eur/192809.htm