Paris (AFP)

Adrien Quatennens, number two of LFI, defended Tuesday the young Mila, the high school student whose virulent criticisms on Islam were worth to him a flood of threats, by recalling that it is "the law, and only the law", which "limits" "freedom of expression".

"I urge the state to protect it and guarantee its security," he said on France Inter, while the girl is now out of school.

He recalled "a simple principle, absolute freedom of conscience", and the existence of "a limited freedom, freedom of expression. These limits are the law and nothing but the law, not the injunctions to the censorship on social media and everything else. "

"The law prohibits the praise of crime, the call to hate; on the other hand it authorizes criticism, satire, etc.", he developed.

"We have the right to be shocked by the words of this young girl, but we have the right to criticize a religion, in the same way that we have the right to criticize her criticism of a religion," he said. -He insists.

Quoting by name the former Minister Ségolène Royal, he also "alerted (e) that personalities who speak on this subject or even political leaders (him) feel they have completely lost their compass" .

Mrs. Royal had defended Sunday the "freedom to criticize religions", which "must be total", while estimating that that "does not prevent having respect, having education, knowledge, too to be smart about what we say ", and by refusing" to erect a teenager who lacks respect as the paragon of freedom of expression ".

"Yes of course I am Mila", assured for his part the first secretary of the Socialist Party Olivier Faure Sunday, defending "the fact in our republic that we have the right including to have crude, harsh words on a religion ", with" the limit of not insulting those who believe and not being in the stigmatization of this or that, Muslims, Jews, Catholics, etc ".

At the PCF, the spokesman Ian Brossat had defended Thursday "the right to criticize religions", while for the national secretary of the party Fabien Roussel, "we must have the right to criticize a religion", but "we must also be able respect it. "

At EELV, MEP Yannick Jadot denounced Monday the "absolutely unacceptable attacks" against the girl, calling to "mobilize so that we can, in this country, criticize religions whatever they are".

© 2020 AFP