France reviews expulsion of foreigners posing national security threat

Paris, Oct 22 (UNI) French Foreign office says Paris is holding talks on the expulsion of foreigners included in threat to national security list with their countries of origin to make sure deportations are carried out effectively.

Earlier in the week the Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French right-wing National Rally party raised the issue of banishing foreigners advocating regional separatism saying it was a necessary measure. Discussions on the issue are ongoing amid unrest across France in the wake of the brutal killing of a history teacher last week.

“Together with the [French] Interior Ministry, we are actively pursuing a close dialogue with the pertinent countries to ensure that the expulsion decisions [of foreigners flagged with S card] may be implemented effectively,” the ministry said in a statement published late on Wednesday.

France’s S card (Fiche S) was introduced in 1969 with the establishment of the national fugitive registry. When attached to a person, it identifies him or her as a serious threat to national security and allows surveillance. Apart from suspected Islamists, these cards are assigned to criminals from gangs, prison escapees and radical ecologists.

History teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded by an 18-year-old man of Chechen origin in the outskirts of Paris after he showed caricatures depicting Islamic prophet Mohammad to his students. The attacker was eliminated by security forces the same night, and an inquiry into the matter has since been opened.

The government has ordered the implementation of a series of measures in the fight against Islamist threat, with French President Emmanuel Macron describing the murder as a “terrorist attack.” In particular, the authorities have already disbanded the Sheikh Yassin Islamist association, whose founder has been in custody for the teacher’s murder case, and plan on dissolving more radical groups advocating separatism.

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