French President François Hollande [official website] on Wednesday said [video, in French] that he will no longer move forward with his plan to reform the country’s constitution. The reform would have included an amendment that would deprive French citizenship or rights attached to it from dual nationals convicted of terrorism. In a short speech, he announced [Reuters report] that he intended to end debate on the matter, citing the National Assembly’s and Senate’s failure to agree on an amendment. The senate adopted a different version of the amendment earlier this month, essentially blocking the measure [JURIST report].
Earlier this month, JURIST Guest Columnist Dr. Sandra Mantu of Radboud University, discussed [JURIST op-ed] the proposed Constitutional law to Protect the Nation in which a person could be deprived of French nationality or of the rights attached to it if he or she has been condemned for a crime or offense that constitutes a serious violation of the nation’s life. The proposed amendments [JURIST report] were a response to the terrorist attacks on Paris in November, which left nearly 130 dead. Organized in three teams, terrorists reportedly connected to the Islamic State (IS) [JURIST backgrounder] perpetrated attacks on six different targets in and around Paris. A UN rights expert commented that the attacks may amount to crimes against humanity [JURIST report].