Hollande shuts door against possibility of financing mosques in France

French President Francois Hollande has closed the door on Wednesday against any possibility that France would finance mosques in its territories, based on French laws separating the state from religion.

In his last meeting with the French cabinet before the beginning of the government’s summer vacation, Hollande said that the law passed in December 1905 will remain untouchable, in reference to the code separating the church from the state, and which prevents financing religious activities in France.

Hollande has closed all doors against the idea, which was not ruled out by Prime Minster Manuel Valls when he said in an interview published by Liberation newspaper on Tuesday, that approaching the 1905 law will open a very dangerous debate, but highlighted the necessity of addressing all possible solutions, without ruling out financing mosques as an alternative for foreign funds.

Valls’s proposal to finance mosques in France was offered in the framework of the French government’s efforts to fight Islamic extremism following the recent terrorist attacks in France.