PARIS, Feb 18: The Lower House of the French legislature has approved a Bill to check Islamic radicalism although it does not mention Islam or Muslims. The Bill was passed by 347 to 151 votes with 65 abstentions. President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party has a majority in the House.

The Bill seeks to safeguard France from radical Islamists by strengthening oversight of mosques, schools and sports clubs.

A pet legislation of Macron, the Bill, called Article 18, has come to be known as Paty law, Paty being the surname of the teacher, Samuel Paty, who was beheaded last year in an attack on a basilica in Nice. The Bill makes it a crime to give out personal details of anyone. Paty was murdered after information about his school was posted in a video.

Samuel Paty had displayed a controversial cartoon of Prophet Mohammed to some students of his school discussing the right of expression. A student gave this information to his family, leading to Paty's murder by an 18-year-old boy.

Macron says radicals would create a "counter society" in France. Islam is the nation’s No. 2 religion. The ruling party has been critical of the right wing for being soft on radicalism even as the latter led by Le Pen has been saying the current legislation is too weak.

The French Council for the Muslim Faith had given its backing to the Bill.

The Bill has provisions to crack down on polygamy and forced marriage, to ensure that children attend regular school starting at age three and not home schools where religious ideology is taught and provide for training for all public employees in secularism. Besides, all religious institutions in France will have to inform the Government about donations received from abroad, according to the Bill. In private companies too Muslim women cannot wear burqas and hijabs, the Bill says.

Over 250 people have been killed in five terrorist attacks in France in the past ten years.

There was a terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo's office in Paris, killing 12 people, on January 7, 2015. Charlie Hebdo is a weekly magazine in France; its office was attacked for printing a controversial cartoon of Prophet Mohammed.

On November 13, 2015, 130 people were killed in terrorist attacks in France; on July 14, 2016, a terrorist rammed his truck on a crowded street in Nice, killing 84 people; on October 3, 2019, a policeman shot and killed three police officers and a civilian; on October 16, 2020, teacher Samuel Paty was killed. Muslim refugees are said to be behind the terrorist attacks.