A threat to the French media landscape?

The French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused of spying on journalists who ‘annoyed him’. This allegation has enhanced the fact that the media climate in France is getting worse from the time of the election of President Nicolas Sarkozy. Journalists have never found it easy to be a journalist in France. Now, some say it is intolerable .

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Where do the boundaries lie for Politicians and freedom of speech?

Dutch politician Geert Wilders has recently been accused of inciting hatred against Muslims. In fact, his statements compared the Koran with Hitler’s Mein Kampf. The Dutch Court stated that freedom of expression was the core issue on trial. He wrote on a Dutch newspaper ‘I had enough of Islam in the Netherlands, let not one more Muslim immigrate’. In 2008, he released a short film called Fitna which include images of suicide bombings juxtaposed with Koran’s verses.

Does the French burka ban really liberate women?

France has voted for the ban on the Muslim veil by a majority of 335 votes for and only one against. The ban, which comes with strong public support, would make it illegal for women to wear garments such as the niqab or burka, which incorporate a full-face veil, anywhere in public. Ignoring the ban could land offending veil-wearers with a fine of up to €150.00.

The ban has come amid a wider debate regarding ‘French identity’ and Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has called it ‘a victory for democracy and for French values… “Values of freedom against all the oppressions which try to humiliate individuals; values of equality between men and women, against those who push for inequality and injustice.”’