Forfeiture: three different versions of a controversial text – Le Figaro

The Senate examines starting Wednesday afternoon constitutional reform which includes, in Article 2, the deprivation of nationality.

the Senate began Wednesday afternoon examining the constitutional amendment which aims to enroll in the basic Law the state of emergency (Article I) and deprivation of nationality for persons convicted terrorism (Article 2). It is on the latter provision that the divisions left broke, despite the efforts of Prime Minister Manuel Valls to force adherence of elected socialists, who have always considered that it “was not in their DNA.” This explains that Article 2 is at the heart of debate, since the PS MP for Seine-et-Marne, Olivier Faure, joined by several slingers PS and thirty socialist senators, demanding the withdrawal of the constitutional reform.

This article 2 has already been in three different versions. In the original draft government bill, adopted on 23 December 2015 the Council of Ministers, deprivation of nationality will apply only binational clear: the text stated that “a French born person holding another nationality can be deprived of French nationality when convicted of a crime constituting a serious attack on the life of the Nation. ” But the writing of this article 2 raised such an outcry in the ranks of the left in the Assembly, especially among the Socialist deputies, who considered the measure “ineffective”, as Manuel Valls intervened in person to edit this article 2 in order not to “stigmatize” binational.

A new wording of Article 2 was developed and adopted in Law Committee, which will be presented on Wednesday afternoon to senators. She can relate that “a person convicted definitively for a crime constituting a serious attack on the life of the nation and having a nationality other than French nationality”

In the end, the Assembly adopted on 10 February, under pressure from MPs PS, a new Article 2, which no longer refers to the binational and establishes without explicitly telling the “lapse for all” convicted terrorist, whether bilateral or mono national, even make them stateless. And to give a pledge to the president of the Republicans, Nicolas Sarkozy, who wanted the sanction also applies to the most serious crimes, the text states specifies that “a person may be deprived of French nationality and the rights attached to celle- when it convicted of a crime or offense constituting a serious attack on the life of the Nation. ”

But President LR Senate, Gérard Larcher, set immediately a red line: the constitutional review should not lead to create new stateless. With the full support of Bruno Retailleau, president of LR group in the Senate, Philippe Bas, President of the RS Law Committee of the Upper House, and the centrist group, a new wording of Article 2 was developed and laws passed in committee, which will be presented on Wednesday afternoon to senators. She can relate that “a person convicted definitively for a crime constituting a serious attack on the life of the nation and having a nationality other than French nationality.” Boom! This new wording unravels the text that the executive did vote with difficulty in the Assembly, returning to a sanction which concerns only dual nationals, even if they are not explicitly named in the text of Article 2. this means that this debate, which divide the left is far from over.