France's president Emmanuel Macron is under renewed pressure to combat Islamist radicalisation within public services at the same time as he struggles to convince Muslims that his policies are not also anti-Islam.
Eric Diard, a centre-right opposition MP and author of a parliamentary report on the issue, says too little has been done to eliminate extremism and the rejection of French values from services including hospitals, schools, prisons and public transport.
He has now published a book entitled Radicalisation at the Heart of Public Services. Mr Diard also highlights a glaring need for genuinely ambitious plans to help young people on high-rise estates with large Muslim populations.
"Too many are being left abandoned to become easy prey for drug dealers and radicalisation," he told The National.
In a speech last month, intended to ease Muslim fears that he was targeting them as a whole, Mr Macron promised to end discrimination in jobs, housing and other areas.
Critics say that with attention focused on opposing separatism and “political Islam”, his encouraging words have not been followed by concrete proposals.
A bill to be presented to Mr Macron's cabinet next week will include strict new rules on education. School will be mandatory from the age of three from next September, home schooling curbed and foreign interference banned.
Action has already been taken to shut down mosques and several Muslim organisations, including the charity Collective Against Islamophobia (CCIF), considered by the French government to be enemies of the republic or apologists for violence.
Underlining the new strategy of zero tolerance, Mr Macron's interior minister Gerald Darmanin has announced searches at a further 76 mosques suspected of preaching separatism. He called it a "massive and unprecedented" operation as part of France's attack on "breeding grounds of terrorism".
Sixteen are in the Paris region, the rest spread around France. The minister tweeted that he would require the closure of anywhere suspicions were found to be justified.
France's main representative Muslim body, the French Muslim Council (CFCM), is being urged to embrace a charter endorsing republican values, rejecting foreign influence and accepting that Islam is a religion, not a political movement.
But Mr Diard believes the bill is inadequate. "Nothing is said about radicalisation in the health sector and universities, which are seriously affected by communitarianism," he told The National. "And there is nothing on prisons, a breeding ground for radicalisation."
The US-based Pew Research Centre estimates 5.7 million Muslims live in France, Europe's largest proportion of population.
While very few support the terrorist murders in Paris and Nice that followed the latest controversy over publication by the magazine Charlie Hebdo of cartoons mocking Islam and the Prophet Mohammed, there is much dismay at Mr Macron's subsequent comments.
The president has sought to persuade Muslims that it is extremism and not Islam that he is confronting.
But his attempts to defend Charlie Hebdo's right to publish offending material triggered a backlash. His phrase "we will never give up cartoons" left an impression with some that he was identifying the state with their publication rather than simply asserting the freedom of expression.
In an open letter to Mr Macron, nearly 30 European associations representing Muslims accused France of "adopting the policies of xenophobes and pandering to bigots".
"Maligning Islam and your own Muslim citizens, closing mainstream mosques, Muslim and human rights organisations, and using this as an opportunity to stir up further hatred, has given further encouragement to racists and violent extremists," it said.
The new book from Mr Diard and his co-author, the journalist Henri Vernet, presses the urgency of Mr Macron's agenda. Mr Diard says the parliamentary report presented only half of what he learnt from protracted research, including meetings with senior officials insisting on anonymity.
Public services are the ones seen as rejecting French values. Mr Diard told The National several schools failed to observe a nationwide homage to the murdered teacher because staff felt under threat from disaffected pupils or parents.
Some sectors of the public services are "plagued by this radicalisation", he says.
Signs range from the relatively trivial – bus drivers refusing to take money from female passengers or shake hands with female managers, or women in hospital insisting on being treated only by female doctors – to outright security threats.
Mr Diard found evidence non-terrorist convicts and even prison officers were at risk of indoctrination by terrorists or sympathisers also serving sentences.
He highlighted the difficulty of monitoring those released, unrepentant, after completing prison terms.
In October 2019, three months after Mr Diard's report was delivered to parliament, Mickael Harpon, an administrative employee at the Paris police headquarters and a convert to Islam, smuggled two kitchen knives into work. He killed four colleagues before being shot dead.
The report had warned that while police chiefs considered it "unthinkable" that an employee would turn on colleagues, there could be no certainty that an individual already radicalised would not be hired or that one might become radicalised after recruitment.
Mr Diard, who represents a constituency near Marseille, describes himself as "rather pessimistic" about the immediate future and says Mr Macron must honour promises to tackle inequality.
The president's pledges were an echo of Mr Diard's own view that prevention is the only solution.
His book cites government intentions to "bring the republic back to the estates, restore public services to their correct state, allow inhabitants to find work and change their world".
But he contrasts this with the state's "abandonment" of many such areas. A report from a former minister, Jean-Louis Borloo, calling for a latter-day Marshall Plan – the post-war US initiative to rebuild Europe – is widely seen as having been largely ignored.
Mr Diard's book concludes with the challenge: "What remains is to match words with action."
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
MATCH INFO
Everton 0
Manchester City 2 (Laporte 45 2', Jesus 90 7')
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQureos%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E33%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESoftware%20and%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%243%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
((Disclaimer))
The Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG (“Bank”) assumes no liability or guarantee for the accuracy, balance, or completeness of the information in this publication. The content may change at any time due to given circumstances, and the Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG is under no obligation to update information once it has been published. This publication is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer, a recommendation or an invitation by, or on behalf of, Liechtensteinische Landesbank (DIFC Branch), Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG, or any of its group affiliates to make any investments or obtain services. This publication has not been reviewed, disapproved or approved by the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) Central Bank, Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”) or any other relevant licensing authorities in the UAE. It may not be relied upon by or distributed to retail clients. Liechtensteinische Landesbank (DIFC Branch) is regulated by the DFSA and this advertorial is intended for Professional Clients (as defined by the DFSA) who have sufficient financial experience and understanding of financial markets, products or transactions and any associated risks.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results:
5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige Dh 110,000 1.400m | Winner: AF Mouthirah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic (PA) Prestige Dh 110,000 1,400m | Winner: AF Saab, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 1,600m | Winner: Majd Al Gharbia, Saif Al Balushi, Ridha ben Attia
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (PA) Listed Dh 180,000 1,600m | Winner: RB Money To Burn, Pat Cosgrave, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh 70,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Kafu, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 2,400m | Winner: Brass Ring, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
MATCH RESULT
Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2
Jazira: Mabkhout (52'), Romarinho (77'), Al Hammadi (90' 6)
Persepolis: Alipour (42'), Mensha (84')
Stage 2 results
1 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal 04:18:18
2 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:02
3 Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 00:00:04
4 Diego Ulissi (ITA) UAE Team Emirates
5 Rick Zabel (GER) Israel Start-Up Nation
General Classification
1 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal 07:47:19
2 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:12
3 Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 00:00:16
4 Nikolai Cherkasov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:17
5 Alexey Lutsensko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 00:00:19
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Company Profile
Company name: Big Farm Brothers
Started: September 2020
Founders: Vishal Mahajan and Navneet Kaur
Based: Dubai Investment Park 1
Industry: food and agriculture
Initial investment: $205,000
Current staff: eight to 10
Future plan: to expand to other GCC markets
