The bill says "against separatism" will be debated from Monday in the National Assembly.

This burning text, which aims essentially to fight against radical Islam, divides parliamentarians and a large number of amendments must be debated.

The National Assembly begins this Monday the examination of the bill against separatism, renamed "reinforcing respect for the principles of the Republic".

The text, which intends to fight against sectarian excesses, is particularly sensitive, because it mainly targets radical Islamism, and therefore a religion: Islam.

The bill provides for a battery of measures on the neutrality of the public service, the fight against online hatred, family education, the reinforced control of associations, better transparency of religions and their funding, and even the fight against certificates of virginity, polygamy or forced marriages.

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Many Muslims fearful of being stigmatized.

The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, did not spare his efforts to convince those responsible for the cult of the advisability of this clarification.

It must attest to the attachment to secularism, to respect for equality between men and women, to the transparency of Islam in its financing and therefore to its emancipation from foreign powers.

2,650 amendments 

Politically, the Republicans and the National Rally denounce a text deemed weak because it does not address the issue of wearing the veil or even emigration.

Among the amendments tabled by the RN deputies therefore appears the ban on "Islamist outfits" - such as the veil - in all public spaces, a subject which has already animated the debates on the government project in a special committee.

The amendments of LREM deputies aimed to prohibit its wearing for little girls.

The ban on home schooling is another point of tension, the measure being deemed excessive and missing its target, according to right-wing MPs.

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For the left, the most significant fear is that of a stigmatization of Muslims.

The deputies denounce a text which divides society.

In total, some 2,650 amendments were tabled by deputies and the government, according to AFP information.

French leaders of other major religions - Catholic, Protestant and Jewish - are doubtful.

They fear being subject to restrictions on freedom of worship and conscience because of the problems posed by the practice of Islam in France.