On November 16, 2015 — just three days after the Paris attacks that killed 130 and injured hundreds — Hollande annonced a series of emergency powers, including extensive search powers and powers to break-up public meetings. Controversially, he pushed for a change to the constitution to allow for terrorists to be stripped of their French nationality.
Months after the Paris attacks, people in France are showing solidarity with #Brussels pic.twitter.com/NU2jm4bMx9
— Holly Hannula (@HollyNBCLA) 22 March 2016
Although the move gained popular support on the right, both his Socialist Party and students — as well as civil rights groups — claimed the move would leave people "stateless". Although the French lower house of parliament narrowly passed the amendment — by 162 votes to 148 with 22 abstentions — Hollande is encountering opposition from the upper house, The Senate.
Christiane Taubira resigned as justice minister late last month over her opposition to it and Hollande's former prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has publicly condemned the amendment.
French student Gael Braibant told The Socialist Worker newspaper in London:
"After the attacks in Paris last November, the government rushed to impose a state of emergency that overturns civil liberties and democratic rights. It took racist initiatives such as withdrawing French nationality from individuals convicted of terrorism. It has humiliated Muslims with aggressive searches and violent raids in places of worship."
The Senate last week pushed through an amendment of the draft law on deprivation of nationality for terrorists, reserving this measure only to dual nationals, which prevents the creation of stateless persons.
If Hollande fails to gain the Senate approval Tuesday, he may be forced to convene a Congress in Versailles — a rare move in French constitutional affairs.
Unpopularity
Hollande is already under fire for failing to get to grips with the French economy which has seen slow growth and high unemployment — particularly among the young, which stands at 24 percent. In an attempt to boost productivity, Hollande and his Prime Minister Manuel Valls had been hoping for fundamental reforms to the highly codified French labor rules.
Chief among those was a cap on severance pay for workers dismissed by a company. The current uncertain cost of laying-off workers mean that companies are risk-averse to doing so, leaving them less flexible and — in some cases — less productive. The government has now relented on that point, making the proposed cap non-binding.
The labor reforms were largely directed at making companies take on more workers on permanent contracts, rather than temporary ones, to bring down the unemployment rate from ten percent. The proposals would give employers more scope to lay off workers and cut costs and allow some employees to work far longer than the current 35-hour week.
