Mayors only want Christian refugees
Mayors in several regions said they do not want Muslims in case they are would-be terrorists
SEVERAL right-wing mairies have said they will take in Syrian refugees – as long as they are Christians.
The mayors of Roanne in Rhône-Alpes; Belfort, Franche-Comté and Charvieu-Chavagneux, Isère have all spoken of putting a religious condition on whether or not they will help refugees.
Les Républicains mayor Yves Nicolin in Roanne told France Bleu it is only by checking refugees are Christian that he can “be absolutely sure they are not disguised terrorists”.
Asked about other persecuted minorities, like the Yazidis, he said it was necessary to “take all possible precautions” and “it will take longer to check that they really are persecuted people, not economic refugees; that they left urgently because Daesh [Islamic State] wants to wipe them out where they live”.
It is easy to check people are Christians by asking a few questions about Christianity, he told journalists.
Mr Nicolin later conceded to Le Figaro that he had been “ill-informed” about Yazidis and would accept them as well as Christians. He added: “I don’t think a Daesh member can transform themselves into a Christian; it’s a religion they hate.”
He wanted to avoid a terror attack being carried out by someone he had hosted in the town, he said.
This came as Damien Meslot, also of Les Républicains, in Belfort, said he was thinking of hosting Christians from Syria and Iraq “because they are the ones who are persecuted most” and the diverse right council of Charvieu-Chavagneux put out a statement that they would make it an “explicit condition” that refugees should be Christian.
Charvieu-Chavagneux, which is near the site of the attack at a chemical plant in June, said this was because “Christians don’t proceed to decapitate their boss as we saw happen a few kilometres away”.
President François Hollande has said France is ready to take 24,000 refugees over the next two years and Prime Minister Manuel Valls told journalists: “You don’t select by religion, the right of asylum is a universal right”.
However, a legal expert told Le Figaro mayors are not obliged to take in migrants and are therefore not legally prevented from placing conditions on those it takes in. At the same time, he said it could be interpreted as religious discrimination, which is punishable by law, so mayors face being sued.
The mayors’ comments have been widely criticised, including by former Socialist mayor of Roanne, Laure Déroche, who said: “These statements from a mayor who calls himself republican, are shameful, scandalous... Once again people are whipping up fears.”
It was wrong to lump all Muslims together, she said.
Charity Secours Catholique also criticised the move, saying: “This is not the Pope’s message. We will always welcome people unconditionally, whatever people’s religion or origins.”
The Association des Maires Ruraux de France, representing mayors of rural towns, has released a statement saying that welcoming refugees is a ‘good idea’ and ‘solidarity is a caracteristic of our countryside’. It did not suggest placing any conditions on this.
