Some French mayors refuse to take in Syrian Muslim refugees

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.

Thursday 10 Sep 2015 - 12:50 Makkah mean time-26-11-1436 (Image from euobserver) Paris, (IINA) - When top French leaders agreed to take in refugees, some of the officials refused this week to take in Syrian and African refugees who practice Islam. The far-right leaders have accused Muslim refugees of posing a threat to France's national security, International Business Times reported. Earlier in the week, mayors from the cities of Roanne and Belfort said they would only be interested in accepting Christian families into their communities. Damien Meslot, the mayor of Belfort in Eastern France, said he only wanted Christian families from Syria and Iraq because “they are the most persecuted.” On the other side, the council of the southeastern town of Charvieu-Chavagneux approved a statement this week that said the town would only accept Christian refugees, according to reports. The city council referred to recent attacks in France, including a foiled train attack by an extremist in August and an attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in January, when two brothers fatally shot journalists who lampooned Islam. The statement said that Christians would not, “attack trains armed with Kalashnikovs and would not gun down journalists in an editorial meeting.” Meanwhile French leaders and Catholic church officials condemned the remarks. “You don’t sort refugees on the basis of religion,” said Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday. “The right to asylum is a universal right.” France’s President Francois Hollande has agreed to take in 24,000 refugees over the next two years, with roughly 200 refugees expected to be welcomed in France just Wednesday. By the end of the week, approximately 1,000 refugees were expected to arrive to the country, according to France 24. In the meantime, National Front leader Marine Le Pen, France's far-right leader, claimed Tuesday that the majority of refugees in Europe were actually economic migrants, a fact not supported by statistics from humanitarian groups.  European Union officials unveiled a proposal Wednesday for the 28-member states to distribute 160,000 refugees based on a quota system that takes into account individual country's economic conditions. At least 850,000 people were expected to cross the Mediterranean to seek refuge in Europe over the next two years, the United Nations said on Tuesday. SM/IINA