Units affiliated with the French Interior Ministry have closed more than 400 organizations and companies belonging to Muslims, as part of a campaign that has included 18,000 inspections of workplaces so far.
According to a report by the French website Mediapart, the ministry asked the inspectors of the CLIR units established in January 2020 to inspect Islamic companies “very tightly.”
The website added that CLIR units have requested the Ministry of Labor to participate in workplace inspections to combat “religious extremism.”
It explained that the Ministry of Interior asked the inspectors to find any “legal justification” to close companies under the clause of violations of the provisions of the Labor Law related to health and hygiene standards in Islamic workplaces or any evidence of “separatist” suspicions.
The order to find a justification and reason for closing Islamic businesses violates national laws, and according to lawyers, this is against the 1947 Labor Control Agreement, which provides for “independence and integrity.”
In the statement issued by the General Confederation of Business (CGT) on January 18, it was noted that “inspecting Muslim workplaces” has nothing to do with protecting workers and is considered “targeting Muslims” and that this is illegal.
CGT National Secretary Valerie Lapatut asserted that CLIR’s demands violate the independence of business auditors, and said, “This is an abuse of business control power.”
