The Guardian
Dozens feared dead after truck drives into crowd in Nice
Driver reportedly shot dead after vehicle mounted kerb and struck people celebrating Bastille Day, local media sources claim
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris, and agencies
Thursday 14 July 2016 22.36 BST Last modified on Friday 15 July 2016 02.50 BST
A truck has crashed into a crowd gathered for France’s Bastille Day fireworks on the seafront of the southern city of Nice, killing at least 70 people, French media have reported.
The sub-prefect of the local Alpes-Maritimes area, Sébastien Humbert, told French rolling news channel BFM TV: “The death toll is extremely high.”
He said a truck had ploughed into a crowd over a long distance on the beachfront Promenade des Anglais “which explains the extremely high toll”.
Nice regional president, Christian Estrosi, who was at the celebration when the carnage happened, said: “This is the worst Nice drama of history for more than 70 victims have already been reported.
“We are terrified and we want to present to all the families our sincere condolences.” He said that the vehicle had been loaded with guns and grenades.
Nice prosecutor Jean-Michel Pretre said that the truck drove 2km (1.3 miles) through the crowd.
Wassim Bouhlel, a Nice native who spoke to the Associated Press near the city’s seafront, said that he saw a truck drive into the crowd and then witnessed the man emerge with a gun and start shooting. “There was carnage on the road,” Bouhlel said. “Bodies everywhere.”
However, officials were cautious about accounts that the driver had opened fire and police also quashed social media rumours of a hostage situation.
The Gendarmerie Nationale tweeted: “Emergency operation in progress. Keep calm and avoid downtown area. Follow the official accounts to be informed.”
Nice’s Promenade des Anglais is famed as a landmark and runs for some four miles. It was busy with revellers celebrating and watching fireworks.
A reporter for the French news agency AFP described seeing a white vehicle driving at high speed on to the promenade as people were leaving after the annual Bastille Day celebration display.
“We saw people hit and bits of debris flying around,” he said, adding that the incident took place near the Hotel Negresco.
“It was absolute chaos,” he said.
A huge security cordon was established, closing off the central Place Massena by 23.30 GMT, AFP added.
BFM TV said President François Hollande was returning to Paris from Avignon to hold a crisis meeting at the interior ministry.
Ségolène Royal, the French environment minister, tweeted her “distress and saddened solidarity with the victims in Nice and all the peope of Nice”.
British security officials and the government were monitoring the situation in Nice, as the seriousness of the incident escalated.
The initial details suggest a tactic which jihadi propaganda has suggested for several years, with a vehicle ploughing into a crowd. Inspire magazine, affiliated with al-Qaida, urged the tactic several years ago.
If the attack is confirmed as a terror incident there are two immediate direct consequences for the UK. First is the decision to use a lorry as a weapon. Secondly, past attacks overseas have led to increase in hate incidents in the UK directed at Muslims in Britain.
Amber Rudd, the new home secretary, has been briefed by officials on the emerging details from France. Rudd was appointed on Wednesday. On Thursday night she left an event in central London – celebrating police bravery – without making any comment.
A spokesman at No 10 said the new prime minister, Theresa May, was being kept up to date on events, adding: “Our thoughts are with all those affected by this terrible incident on what was a day of national celebration.”
The White House said that Barack Obama had been appraised of the situation was being kept updated. The US president condemned “what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack in Nice” and said he had directed his team to offer any assistance France may need in its investigation.
The Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, announced on Twitter that, after the events in Nice, he was delaying a press conference planned for Friday to announce his running mate.
He tweeted: “Another horrific attack, this time in Nice, France. Many dead and injured. When will we learn? It is only getting worse.”
The French ambassador to the US, Gérard Araud, also tweeted: “Our democracies are besieged. Let’s stick more than ever to our values. Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite. Vive la France, vive les Etats-Unis!”
MailOnline
French ban on Muslim headscarves is upheld by human rights court after woman sacked for refusing to remove hers loses appeal
Christiane Ebrahimian refused to take off headscarf in a Nanterre hospital
Contract was terminated after patients complained about her head covering
Ebrahimian lost her appeal at the European Court of Human Rights today
Public employees banned from displaying 'suspicious religious symbols'
By JAY AKBAR FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 13:07, 26 November 2015 | UPDATED: 20:34, 26 November 2015
Europe's leading human rights court upheld the France's ban on Islamic headscarves in the case of a Muslim social worker who was sacked because she refused to take hers off.
Christiane Ebrahimian lost her job at a psychiatric department of a hospital in Nanterre because patients complained about her refusal to remove her head covering.
She lost her appeal at the European Court of Human Rights today.
The French government bars public employees from displaying their religious beliefs on the job.
In 2004, the country banned the wearing of 'conspicuous religious symbols' including the Muslim face veil, known as the niqab.
The ban was eventually extended to schoolchildren and even parents who wanted to accompany classes on trips.
In 2010, the country banned face coverings of all kinds, including masks, niqabs and the full body dress known as a burqa, in public spaces 'except under specified circumstances'.
Ms Ebrahimian was born in 1951 and lived in the capital Paris at the time of the ruling, according to Dr Georg Neureither who founded the online religious platform, Religion Weltanschaaung Recht.
He said she was recruited to the hospital on a fixed term contract as a social worker. On December 11, 2000, she was told that her contract would be terminated because patients complained she would not take off her headscarf.
In May 2000, the hospital wrote to her to remind her that the 'the secular State... prevented public officials from enjoying the right to manifest their religious beliefs while discharging their functions'.
It added: 'Wearing a visible symbol of religious affiliation constituted a breach of a public official's duties.'
A local government in Switzerland imposed a similar rule this week by threatening to issue fines of up to £6,500 to women caught wearing the burqa in shops, restaurants or public buildings.
Officials in the state of Ticino, southern Switzerland, approved the ban after a referendum in September 2013 which saw two out of three voters backing the move.
Ticino government had wanted to ban burqas and niqabs as well as masks worn by demonstrators and balaclavas, it was reported.
Amnesty International
European Court ruling on full-face veils punishes women for expressing their beliefs
1 July 2014, 00:00 UTC
Today’s European Court of Human Rights judgment upholding a general ban on wearing full-face veils in public is deeply damaging, warned Amnesty International. It represents a profound retreat for the right to freedom of expression and religion and sends a message that women are not free to express their religious beliefs in public.
The case was brought before the Strasbourg-based court by S.A.S, a 24-year-old French woman who finds the general ban enacted in France in 2011 to be in violation of her freedom of expression and a range of other rights. Women in France face fines and/or citizenship training for violating the law.
“The court recognised that arguments based on security and gender equality were specious. But it accepted the argument that wearing full-face veils runs counter to established social norms that are necessary for ‘living together’. This reasoning should be deeply disturbing to all those who value the freedom of expression,” said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International.
“If one strips the court’s ruling to its barest essence, it is saying you cannot wear full-face veils because it makes people feel uncomfortable. This is not grounds to ban behaviour or a form of expression – religious or otherwise – that in itself does no harm to others.
“As the European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly insisted, discomfort and shock are the price democratic societies must pay precisely to enable ‘living together’. The reality is that in forcing people to “live together”, this ruling will end up forcing a small minority to live apart, as it effectively obliges women to choose between the expressing their religious beliefs and being in public,” said John Dalhuisen.
The judgment was handed down by the European Court’s Grand Chamber, meaning it cannot be appealed.
S.A.S. argued before the European Court that the law is discriminatory on the basis of her gender and religion, violates her rights to freedom of expression, religion or belief and private life, and amounts to degrading treatment.
She told the Court that she does not wear the full-face veil all the time and is willing to take it off in the context of identity checks, at the airport, in banks or in other situations as required.
Although some restrictions of freedom of expression and religion can be justified in specific contexts, Amnesty International believes that the general restrictions imposed by the French legislation are neither proportionate nor necessary.
There is already national legislation in France ensuring that identity checks can be performed by law enforcement agents when necessary and aimed at combating violence against women.
“It is stereotypical to assume that all women who wear traditional or religious symbols or dress are coerced to do so, and no country should legislate away their rights, never mind punish them, based on such a crude generalization,” said John Dalhuisen.
Besides the French ban enacted in 2011, only one other European state and one region have put in place similar prohibitions on the use of full-face veils in public. This includes Belgium in 2011 and in the Swiss Canton Ticino in 2013. Local prohibitions remain enforced in many municipalities in the Catalunya region of Spain. France is thus out of line with the rest of Europe in guaranteeing freedom of expression and religion.
Amnesty International is calling on all relevant authorities to overturn such discriminatory bans.
Background
In today’s final Grand Chamber judgment in the case of S.A.S. v. France (application no. 43835/11) the European Court of Human Rights held that there had been no violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life), Article 9 (right to respect for freedom of thought, conscience and religion) or Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The French legislation entered into force on 11 April 2011 (Law 2010-1192) and prohibits any form of dress aimed at concealing the face in public. The material scope of the ban is wide as it applies to all public spaces; full-face veils can only be worn at home, in private cars or in places of worship. Some other exceptions to the general ban include situations where the face is covered on the basis of existing safety and health regulations or for public festivities. Whoever contravenes the legislation can be punished with a fine and/or a citizenship training; courts are responsible for deciding on the punishment, on a case by case basis. This law introduces in the Penal Code a provision aimed at punishing persons found to be coercing women to cover their face.
According to France’s Ministry of Interior, in 2010 there were 1,900 women wearing full-face veils in the country.
There is no evidence at all that women who wear full-face veils are forced or coerced. Research undertaken by Amnesty International and other organizations including the Open Society Institute in France found that the wearing of full-face veils is not a homogenous practice; some women wear it part-time, others only for a limited period of time. The research also found that, contrary to common belief, women who wear full-face veils do not necessarily segregate themselves or feel rejection against French society.
According to the BVA survey published in the 2014 report of the Human Rights National Committee, French society’s perceptions of Islam and Muslims are becoming less and less tolerant. Ninety-four and 80 per cent of French people, respectively, think that wearing a full-face veil or a headscarf constitutes a problem. Pupils are not allowed to wear headscarves or other religious symbols in any public French school (they can in universities).
The CCIF (collectif contre l'Islamophobie en France) collected 482 cases of discrimination and 27 cases of physical attacks against Muslims in 2013.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-woman-poet-lashes-out-at-clerics-in-arabic-idol-1926176.html
The Independent
Saudi woman poet lashes out at clerics in 'Arabic Idol'
Abu Dhabi judges praise courage of writer who dared to criticise hardliners
By Archie Bland Wednesday 24 March 2010
Instead of Jon and Edward dressed as the Ghostbusters, it featured a single woman covered from head to toe in black, declaiming traditional Arabic poetry from a podium. And rather than Cheryl Cole or Dannii Minogue in a revealing designer outfit, the judging panel consists of five sober-looking men with bushy moustaches, and a similarly all-male audience.
The X Factor it isn't – but Abu Dhabi's live poetry talent contest, The Million's Poet, which is broadcast across the Arab world, features something far more subversive than its British equivalent could ever manage.
Tonight, Hissa Hilal, a mother-of-four from Saudi Arabia, takes to the stage in the last round of a competition that she has taken by storm with a scathing critique of the conservative clerics who hold sway in her country. Her poetry has earned her the praise of the judges, the acclaim of the viewing public – and more than a few death threats.
Ms Hilal earned her place in the final with a performance last week, which was seen as a response to a prominent Saudi cleric's call for those who advocated the mingling of men and women to be punished with death. In a 15-verse work, she railed against preachers who "sit in the position of power", "frightening" people with their religious edicts.
"I have seen evil in the eyes of fatwas, at a time when the permitted is being twisted into the forbidden," she said, with only her microphone and her eyes visible against the uniform black of her burqa. The clerics, she went on – and, by extension, suicide bombers who wrap explosives around their waists – "are vicious in voice, barbaric, angry and blind, wearing death as a robe cinched with a belt".
It was a bold message indeed, and in Saudi Arabia, where unmarried men and women are entirely segregated, a highly controversial one. But when she finished, the ranks of men listening erupted into cheers, and the judges sent her into today's final with compliments ringing in her ears.
"Hissa Hilal is a courageous poet," said Sultan al-Amimi, one of the show's judges. He praised her for "expressing her opinion" and "raising an alarm" against extremist clerics.
Ms Hilal herself, meanwhile, is uncompromising in the face of the threats that have emerged on militant websites. "My poetry has always been provocative," she told the Associated Press. "It's a way to express myself and give voice to Arab women, silenced by those who knock our culture and our religion."
The Million's Poet is a particularly remarkable venue for her message given the conservatism of its format. Whereas rivals like Superstar and Star Academy mimic the content of Western talent contests like American Idol and The X Factor, the introduction of traditional poetry has brought the show a wider audience that includes many who might normally dismiss Ms Hilal's message.
"The show is at the heart of cultural conversations in the Arab world," says Lina Khatib, an Arab media expert at Stanford University. "It's a hybrid of the modern and the traditional. So it's packaged within acceptable parameters. Because it's poetry, one of the most respected forms of expression in the Arab world, you can push the boundaries much further than you might with popular music."
In tonight's final, Ms Hilal plans to focus on the media; Jaza al-Baqmi, one of her rivals , will devote her performance to the role of women in Arab culture. The winner will pocket Dh1m (£900,000).
But despite the life-changing money on offer, Ms Hilal is a little taken aback by the sudden fame that the show has brought her. "I worry how I will be perceived after the show is over," she said. "I worry the lights of fame will affect my simple and quiet existence."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastille_Day
Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is formally called La fête nationale; The National Celebration and commonly Le quatorze juillet; the fourteenth of July.
The French National Day commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, an important event 226 years ago in Paris in the French Revolution, which had begun two days earlier, as well as the Fête de la Fédération which celebrated the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790. Celebrations are held throughout France. The oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe is held on the morning of 14 July, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in front of the President of the Republic, along with other French officials and foreign guests.
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| Sketch of Le Serment du Jeu de paume by David. |
Storming of the Bastille
On 19 May 1789, Louis XVI invited Estates-General (les États-généraux) to air their grievances. The deputies of the Third Estate (le Tiers État), representing the common people—the two others were the Catholic clergy (clergé, Roman Catholicism being the state religion at that time) and the nobility (noblesse)—decided to break away and form a National Assembly. The Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath (le serment du Jeu de paume, 20 June 1789), swearing not to separate until a constitution had been established. They were gradually joined by (liberal) delegates of the other estates; Louis XVI started to recognize the validity of their concerns [clarification needed] on 27 June. The assembly renamed itself the National Constituent Assembly (Assemblée nationale constituante) on 9 July.
Jacques Necker, the finance minister, who was sympathetic to the Third Estate, was dismissed on 11 July. The people of Paris then stormed the Bastille, fearful that they and their representatives would be attacked by the royal army or by foreign regiments of mercenaries in the king's service, and seeking to gain ammunition and gunpowder for the general populace. The Bastille was a fortress-prison in Paris which had often held people jailed on the basis of lettres de cachet (literally "signet letters"), arbitrary royal indictments that could not be appealed and did not indicate the reason for the imprisonment. The Bastille held a large cache of ammunition and gunpowder, and was also known for holding political prisoners whose writings had displeased the royal government, and was thus a symbol of the absolutism of the monarchy. As it happened, at the time of the attack in July 1789 there were only seven inmates, none of great political significance.
The crowd was eventually reinforced by mutinous Gardes Françaises ("French Guards"), whose usual role was to protect public buildings. They proved a fair match for the fort's defenders, and Governor de Launay, the commander of the Bastille, capitulated and opened the gates to avoid a mutual massacre. However, possibly because of a misunderstanding, fighting resumed. According to the official documents, about 200 attackers and just one defender died in the actual fighting, but in the aftermath, de Launay and seven other defenders were killed, as was Jacques de Flesselles, the prévôt des marchands ("provost of the merchants"), the elected head of the city's guilds, who under the feudal monarchy also had the competences of a present-day mayor .
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