Le Figaro Nice
A week after the decision of the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, Hugues Moutouh, to close an Islamic bookstore in Nice, the Nice administrative court, contacted by the manager's lawyer, suspended the execution of this order.
The measure
“is not proportionate to the objective of preventing disturbances to public order
,” the court said.
The “Iqra” bookstore, which also sells religious clothing, will therefore be able to reopen even though it had to keep the curtain down for three months.
The store is located in the city center of the Riviera capital, near the main train station.
On February 28, the Maralpine prefecture justified its choice by
“a lack of authorization for the use of video protection”
but above all, by the sale of works
“advocating religious fundamentalism”
.
The services had mentioned several books as being
“vectors of indoctrination”
and
“advocating religious proselytism”
.
They had thus noted death threats against homosexuals and calls for violence against women in certain pages.
On his X account (formerly Twitter), the prefect announced he would appeal.
“I am more determined than ever to defend the values of the Republic against Islamist fundamentalism
,” insisted Hugues Moutouh.
Lawyer Sefen Guez-Guez had filed a summary judgment on behalf of the bookstore on March 3 to contest the closure and in his decision, the judge agreed with him on Tuesday.
“The relentlessness has not prospered, this decision restores the honor of the Iqra bookstore unfairly accused of fundamentalism
,” he reacted in a press release, assuring that the establishment would reopen
“immediately”
.
Books available at Fnac and on Amazon
The court justified itself on the fact
“that an applicant can only have his request favorably granted when two conditions are cumulatively met”
.
Which is not the case anyway for the two reasons put forward by prefect Hugues Moutouh according to justice.
Concerning the video protection,
"the manager of the establishment had removed the entire system"
, noted the summary judge, which contradicts the prefecture which assured that despite the formal notice and the request for removal of the equipment, the cameras were still functional.
The works targeted by state services (
The ten deadly sins
of Imam Shams Ad-Dîn and
Our duty towards scholars and those who hold power
by Sheikh Salih Al Fawzan) have been withdrawn from sale, indicated the court, which mentioned in passing that these books were in any case available in other Muslim bookstores in France but also on sale on the websites of Fnac and Amazon.
Another noted work,
The abandonment of prayer, Muslim or unbeliever
, does not pose any particular concern according to the judge.
“It was not demonstrated, during the proceedings, that the two books cited contain passages that could be considered likely to generate a disturbance of public order
,” we can read in the court decision.
However, this is what the prefecture pointed out last week.
Who maintains.
The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi (Horizons), once again supported the prefect's decision since the municipality had also informed him of this establishment which is located on rue Marceau.
“Faced with separatism which threatens all parts of our society, we can only support all initiatives which limit communitarianism and non-respect for the principles of our democracy
,” he added on the Threads social network.
With his closure order, Hugues Moutouh also contacted the Nice public prosecutor.
A preliminary investigation for “public incitement to hatred or violence due to origin, ethnicity, nation, race or religion” has since been opened by the public prosecutor's office and the investigations have been entrusted to the police. judicial.