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09-09-2016, 04:50 AM
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?Islam can co-exist with French values?
The deeply unpopular Hollande has yet to an**unce whether he will run for a second term next year, but is widely expected to be a candidate. In a speech on terrorism and democracy in Paris he defended the country’s Muslim mi**rity following a vitriolic debate on the banning of the Islamic burkini swimsuit. "**thing in the idea of secularism opposes the practice of Islam in France, provided it respects the law," Hollande said. Secularism was **t a "state religion" to be used against other religions, he said, de**uncing the "stigmatisation of Muslims." Mayors in around 30 French towns this summer cited the country’s century-old secular laws in banning head-to-toe swimwear on their beaches, unleashing a furore. Several of the towns later revoked the bans after France’s highest administrative court ruled they were a "serious" violation of basic freedoms. Hollande rejected calls by conservatives, including his arch-rival, former president Nicolas Sarkozy, for a ban on the burkini, saying it would be "unconstitutional". As to whether Islam can co-exist with a secular French state, like Christianity and Judaism do, he insisted: "My answer is yes, certainly." "The question the Republic must answer is: Is it really ready to embrace a religion that it did **t expect to be this big over a century ago. There too, my answer is yes, certainly." In a wide-ranging speech Hollande cast himself as the defender of democracy in the face of a string of terror attacks that have left over 230 people dead since January 2015. The government has responded by deploying thousands of troops to patrol the streets, enacting a raft of anti-terror laws and repeatedly extending a state of emergency -- measures deemed insufficient by the conservative opposition. Hollande warned that France could **t sacrifice its core values of liberty, equality and fraternity. "Did the Patriot Act and Guantanamo protect Americans from the terrorist threat? **," he said, alluding to calls by Sarkozy for terror suspects to be interned in camps. "Democracy is our ******" Hollande insisted. Polls predict the Socialist leader would suffer a humiliating defeat if he threw his hat in the ring again after five years marked by stubbornly high unemployment and only timid attempts at reform. أكثر... 
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