The National Council of Evangelicals in France (CNEF) has responded to the government’s plans to strengthen state secularism in a December Bill by reiterating that evangelicals in France ‘respect the laws of the republic’, and seek a ‘transparent’ relationship with the national, regional and local authorities.
The efforts to preserve French values was outlined by President Macron prior to the Islamist attacks on French citizens in the autumn, which included two beheadings. In early October he had planned to ‘combat Islamic separatism’ in light of ‘extreme hardening’ of some Islamic groups in France.
CNEF noted that if the government’s plans against Islamist extremism would have side effects on the ‘freedom of religion, thought and expression’, then CNEF would take a stand.
