France to Investigate Dozens of Mosques Suspected of ‘Separatism’

France to Investigate Dozens of Mosques Suspected of ‘Separatism’
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to present his strategy to fight separatism, in Les Mureaux, outside Paris, on Oct. 2, 2020. Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP
Reuters
Updated:

PARIS—France will on Thursday start investigating dozens of mosques suspected of fomenting Islamist ideology to combat the rising threat of religious extremism, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

The government has launched what it calls an unprecedented action against “separatism” following several Islamic terrorist attacks in France this autumn, including the beheading of a teacher who had shown his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.