The Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet regrets Saturday in a forum in the World his remarks "inaccurate" on the criticism of religion. These comments had caused an uproar and resulted in him being accused of misunderstanding the law or of justifying the offense of blasphemy.
The controversy was part of the minister's statements on the Mila affair, named after this 16-year-old girl who was threatened with death on social media after comments hostile to Islam.
"In a democracy, the threat of death is unacceptable [...]. The insult to religion is obviously an attack on freedom of conscience, it's serious, but it has nothing to do with the threat (of death) ", said Nicole Belloubet on January 29 on Europe 1.
"I had an expression that was not only awkward, which is unfortunate, but above all inaccurate," said the minister on Saturday in this forum intended to "speak again in a more posed way" and to explain her vision of the defense of secularism in France.
“The insult to religion fortunately does not exist in our Republic. Only the insults done to others are repressed because of their membership of a determined religion ”, underlines Ms. Belloubet.
The question of the right to blasphemy
“The Mila case brought to light the issue of the right to profanity. This right exists. In our country, everyone is free to blaspheme. This is obvious, ”she adds. "France is not a land of fatwas," she also said, after having stressed that "in matters of secularism, there are no possible accommodations. It's a block. Unalterable. Non-negotiable. Vital ".
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Shortly after her remarks at the end of January, the minister had pleaded awkwardness and assured that she would not question "the right to criticize religion".
Among his detractors, the leader of deputies LR Damien Abad, had nevertheless judged that "when one is Keeper of the Seals one has no right to be clumsy with the law".
Concerning the remarks against Islam of the young Isère high school student of 16 years, Mila, the parquet floor of Vienna judged that they did not constitute a provocation to hatred and closed the investigation without further action. The investigators are however continuing their investigations to find the perpetrators of death threats against him.
