President Macron’s government reiterated today its determination to fight radical Islam, saying that it was prepared to change the law to expel an imam accused of antisemitism, reports The Times.
Brushing aside a political and legal row over the expulsion, Gérald Darmanin, the interior minister, described Hassan Iquioussen as an enemy of France who had “no place” in the country.
Darmanin said that nothing would prevent him from removing Iquioussen, 58, who has Moroccan nationality but has lived all his life in France, where he has five children and 15 grandchildren.
Iquioussen, from Denain in northern France, has become a symbol of Macron’s battle against Islamists, whom Macron says reject French laws and values.
Darmanin announced the expulsion “by force” last week after Morocco delivered a laissez-passer to authorise his travel, but was thwarted when Iquioussen won an injunction halting his removal. Paris administrative court ruled that the expulsion was a “disproportionate infringement . . . of [Iquioussen’s] right to a private and family life”.