The Minister for Sports Roxana Maracineanu delivered an indictment in the Senate on Wednesday against the right-wing majority, accused of having "
spoken only of religious symbols
" during the debate on the sports law, "
a political policy, without vision and which does not aims only at division
”.
The Senate rejected the text en bloc in a new reading, by the adoption of a procedural motion.
At first reading, the upper assembly had voted an LR amendment to prohibit "
the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols
" in competition, once again opening the controversy on the question of wearing the veil.
The text, expurgated of this provision in new reading by the deputies, must be definitively adopted on February 24 by a final vote of the National Assembly.
In her preliminary remarks in the Senate hemicycle, the minister devoted a long “
parenthesis
” to this controversy.
Allusion to Olympic champion Clément Noël
Referring to Clément Noël's gold medal in slalom, she said that she thought of the senators, "
of this responsibility that you have been too little on these benches to assume, this responsibility of being equal to the investment of our champ
”.
"
I thought of the courage that the majority of the Senate lacked to finish the job, to complete a second round with dignity, with panache (...) the one that Clément Noël could have inspired you for this session
", said she continued.
"
You only spoke of religious signs, it is not up to the expectations of our fellow citizens or the sports movement
," accused Ms. Maracineanu.
“
You don't grow out of it.
The only thing you have achieved is to eclipse from the media debate fundamental notions such as parity or the limitation of the mandates of presidents
, ”she said.
I have never heard a minister attack senators so violently
Nathalie Goulet, centrist senator
Three senators immediately reacted to these remarks with points of order.
"
It's been 15 years since I sat in this hemicycle, I have never heard any minister attacking senators so violently, frontally,
" said centrist Nathalie Goulet, "
outraged
".
Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio (LR), standard-bearer for the veil ban, judged "
completely scandalous that a minister challenges parliamentarians (...) by questioning their word
", while Françoise Férat ( centrist) denounced "
insulting remarks
".
The "
prior question
" leading to the rejection of the text in new reading, without examination of its articles, was voted by 208 votes (LR, centrists, part of the Independents) against 129 (PS, RDPI with a majority En Marche, CRCE with a majority communist, RDSE with a radical majority, ecologists).