French President Francois Hollande, whose initial plan to welcome 24,000 immigrant refugees was met with public support, has shocked Europe and his country by revealing his opposition to immigration and criticism of Islam.
In a new book about his private thoughts and comments, Hollande reveals that he no longer supports immigration, believes Islam is too assertive, and feels that Muslim women want to choose freedom from wearing a veil.
French Socialist President:”There are too many immigrants who shouldn’t be here.True, there is a problem with Islam”https://t.co/d7estL2XDl
— Nayla Rush (@NaylaRush) October 11, 2016
Several French papers today reported on the comments in the book, “A President Should Not Say That,” written by two investigative journalists.
Some examples:
— On Immigration: “I think there are too [many] arrivals, immigration should not be there.”
— On Islam: “This is not Islam that is problematic in the sense that it would be a religion that would be dangerous in itself, but because it wants to assert itself as a religion in the Republic.”
— On Muslim women: “The veiled woman of today will be the Marianne tomorrow,” a reference to the French national symbol. And, he added, “in a way, if we can offer the conditions for its development, she will release her veil and become a French while being religious if it is the be capable of carrying an ideal.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
