French Government To Check 76 Mosques Suspected Of Having Links To Extremists

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd December, 2020) The French government will inspect 76 Muslim places of worship across the country for terrorist links as part of the "unprecedented action against separatism," French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

"Following my instructions, the state services will launch massive and unprecedented action against separatism. Seventy-six mosques suspected of separatism will be checked in the coming days and those that will have to be closed, will be [closed]," Darmanin tweeted late on Wednesday.

According to the Le Figaro newspaper, the checks are due to begin later on Thursday. Out of 76 targeted mosques, 16 are located in the central Il-de-France region and the rest are in other parts of France.

The newspaper also stated that 18 religious establishments under inspection would be subjected to immediate measures, which include closures.

France has seen a wave of national dismay over the growing Islamist threat in October, following a series of terrorist attacks, including the brutal beheading of a French history teacher in Paris outskirts at hands of a radicalized teenager of Chechen origin. Another major assault occurred in the city of Nice when a terrorist of Tunisian origin knife-stabbed three people in a local cathedral.

In the wake of religiously-motivated attacks, French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to implement necessary measures to curb what he called Islamic separatism, including boosted security in the country and activities, uproot the sources of extremism through closures of related associations.