Establishment of curfews to prohibit people or vehicles from roaming specific places at times fixed by decree.
Establishment of “secure / protected zones”, where the stay of persons is regulated.
Prohibition of “any person seeking to hinder, in any manner whatsoever, the actions of the government”.
House Arrest
The Minister of the Interior may put under house arrest or restrain to a given city anyone “whose actions may be seen as harmful to public safety and order”.
Closure of Public Places
The Minister of the Interior or the prefects may “order the temporary closure of theaters, pubs and meeting places” and “meetings of nature to cause or maintain disorder”
Weapon Confiscation
The Minister of the Interior may “order the return of first-, fourth- and fifth-class weapons”, which are handguns, shotguns and hunting rifles.
Searches and The Press
The Minister of the Interior can order homes to be searched “day or night”.
The Minister of the Interior may “take all measures to ensure control of the press and radio”.
The searches can be done without the supervision of a judge.
Military Jurisdiction
Military jurisdiction, via an accompanying decree, may “assign to themselves crimes and offenses related to them”.
Punishments for Refusing to Comply
Imprisonment of up to two months.
A €3750 ($4000) fine.
Therefore, the government essentially becomes judge, jury and executioner in one fell swoop. The Hollande regime, which is certainly an appropriate description under these circumstances, is now effectively in control of the French press, can rule by decree, cannot have any of its actions opposed by anyone, and has the authority to place any naysayer in jail.
If that isn’t the definition of a police state, we don’t know what is!
Moreover, if you were thinking about visiting France in the next three months – don’t bother!
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article.