The Government will announce on Monday a plan to combat racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination linked to origin. This 2023-2026 plan provides for a series of measures that affect different sectors, ranging from education to employment, through justice and sport. “For more than five years, we have been fighting all forms of hate and tracking all forms of discrimination,” Elisabeth Borne told AFP.
This plan foresees 5 axes: naming the reality of racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination, measuring these phenomena, educating better and training better, punishing the perpetrators but also supporting the victims.
Elisabeth Borne foresees in particular in this plan, “the organization of a historical or memory visit linked to racism, anti-Semitism or anti-Gypsyism for each student during their schooling”.
“Systematize evidence on employment discrimination”
A “strengthening” of the training of teachers and state officials in general (security forces, Pôle emploi reception agents, etc.) is also planned, which should start “from the beginning of 2023”.
The government also intends to create aggravated penalties for “non-public crimes of a racist or anti-Semitic nature committed in the exercise of their function by persons holding public authority or entrusted with a public service mission.”
Among its main measures, the plan also provides for “systematizing controls on employment discrimination” in different sectors, private and public, in consultation with unions and business organizations and associations in particular. The test consists of sending two identical CVs for the same job offer with the only differences, in particular, the origin of the candidate.
In a “graded logic”, if bad practices persist, the government does not rule out sanctioning and resorting to the practice of “name and shame”, publishing the names of less than virtuous companies.
An “arrest warrant” in case of “racist or anti-Semitic convictions”
In order to “promote digital citizenship”, the plan plans to involve “platforms and influencers, in collaborative work to develop tools aimed at improving the behavior of Internet users”.
As with victims of sexual violence, the government also wants to ensure that a complaint is filed. The police are invited to collect and process them better, through “partial anonymization” or thanks to “an evaluation grid”.
The government still intends to include in the law “the possibility” of issuing an “arrest warrant” in case of “conviction of a racist or anti-Semitic nature”, “controversy of a crime against humanity” or “apology of crimes against humanity”. humanity or war crimes”. This is to allow the execution of sentences “when the convicted perpetrators think of escaping it by fleeing abroad”.
1,382 convictions for racist acts in 2021
This plan, which will be monitored every six months, follows extensive consultation. Regarding the budget, each ministry involved has made commitments, but the overall amount has not been communicated. Most of the measures do not imply legislative provisions, but if necessary, they will be registered “as the opportunities of the texts”, indicates the Government.
In March 2018, Édouard Philippe presented a preliminary plan, which focused in particular on the fight against hateful content online. He already planned to strengthen the training of “all personnel” of education.
According to data from the Ministry of Justice, in 2021, “7,721 cases of a racist, anti-Semitic or xenophobic nature were the subject of legal actions.” In total “1,382 sentences (were) pronounced for racist, anti-Semitic, xenophobic acts or committed with this aggravating circumstance.”
Source: BFM TV
