Paris: President Francois Hollande's call for convicted terrorists to lose their French citizenship if they have a second nationality has triggered uproar among those who see him adopting right-wing ideas that recall dark moments in France's history.
Ever since the French Revolution in the late 1700s, "le droit du sol" ("the right of the soil") has been a fundamental principle, giving everyone born in the country the right to citizenship.
But in the aftermath of November's jihadist attacks in Paris, Hollande announced to an extraordinary session of both houses of parliament that he would seek changes to the constitution so that dual-nationals could be stripped of their French passport.
Patrick Weil, a political scientist who met Hollande and advised him against the decision, said France would become "the first democracy in the world" to enshrine in its constitution the principle of unequal treatment of dual nationals.
"It introduces the idea of a different penalty for the same act, just because of the random chance of their birth," said Weil, who teaches at Yale University in the United States.
"That people -- who sometimes don't even know they have a second nationality -- can be banned is like the return of banishment as a penalty."
For many in Hollande's Socialist party, and others on the left of French politics, the move is little short of ideological treason.
"In wanting to steal the thunder of the far right, we risk implementing their programme," said Cecile Duflot, a former minister in Hollande's government.
Economist Thomas Piketty, author of the blockbuster book on inequality "Capital in the 21st Century", wrote on his blog: "To its economic incompetence, the government has now added infamy."
An ugly history
As well as breaking a legal principle, the measure also touches a raw nerve from France's history, say critics.
The Vichy regime, which collaborated with the Nazis in the 1940s, stripped thousands of Jews and foreigners of French citizenship during World War II.
Dissenters say Hollande has borrowed from the playbook of the right wing, not least since the treatment of immigrants was one of the few areas where there was clear daylight between the two mainstream parties.
When right-wing leader Nicolas Sarkozy raised the idea of removing the "droit du sol" from some types of violent criminals in 2011, he was blasted by the Socialists.
Worse still in the eyes of the left, it was an idea first mooted by the far-right, anti-immigrant National Front (FN).
FN leader Marine le Pen happily took credit when the new reforms were outlined last week, saying it was a direct result of her party's record tally in recent polls.
"Removal of nationality: the first effect of the 6.8 million votes for the National Front in regional elections," Le Pen wrote on Twitter.
AFP
