News
|
Published on 3 February 2023

Crif - Minister Isabelle Rome talks about the French National Plan to Combat Racism, Antisemitism and Origin-Based Discrimination

Monday, January 30, 2023, French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne presented the French National Plan to Combat Racism, Antisemitism and Origin-Based Discrimination for the period from 2023 to 2026, in the presence of Isabelle Rome, Minister Delegate in charge of Equality between women and men, Diversity and Equal Opportunities, and ten other members of the Government. On this occasion, we interviewed Isabelle Rome on the development of this three-year plan, its priority measures and the expected results.
 
Crif - How was this plan developed?
 
Isabelle Rome - My conception of public action revolves around two principles: on the one hand, listening and consultation; on the other hand, to be at the service of citizens.
 
The President of the Republic and the Prime Minister entrusted me with the task, within the framework of the priority policy of combating all forms of hatred and discrimination, of drawing up the new national plan to combat racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination linked to origin, with the aim of taking on the realities of racism and anti-Semitism, giving us the means to measure and correct them, in particular through education but also sanction .
 
As Minister, I have set the course and the political ambition of this new plan: first of all, I wanted measures that correspond to concrete, assessable actions (therefore measures accompanied by indicators) and which will be assessed (therefore with a target year for their effective implementation).
 
Then, on September 8, I brought together the representatives of twenty associations and places of memory or history to launch the consultation work which continued with ten meetings in one month. These workshops brought together more than thirty-five associations, fifteen ministries and independent authorities such as the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) or the Defender of Rights.
 
The plan presented last Monday is therefore the result of intense consultation, which I intend to continue by monitoring the implementation of the measures.
 
 
The Crif - This plan engages the responsibility of all ministries. Do you think it will be deployed with sufficient means?
 
Isabelle Rome - This plan is indeed supported by the entire Government. As the Prime Minister reminded us, the measures are by nature interministerial and commit all the ministries, either as pilots of a measure or as contributors. The eleven ministers who were present on Monday January 30 clearly displayed their ambitions to deploy the measures concerning them as quickly as possible and, for this, each ministry will allocate the necessary means.
 
More broadly, I am of course already looking forward to the next annual budget discussion and the objective of further strengthening the means of action and strategic coordination of my ministry and the Interministerial Delegation for the Fight against Racism, Anti-Semitism and anti-LGBT hatred (Dilcrah).
 
As a reminder, in 2022, the Dilcrah budget was €8.4 million (+€1.46 million compared to 2021), it rose to €9.2 million in 2023. Above all, more than 95% of credits are redistributed to associations, memory foundations and museums within the framework of national and local calls for projects. In total, more than 1,030 structures were directly supported financially in 2022.
 
 
Crif - What are the priority measures and what results do you expect from the first meeting of the monitoring committee scheduled in six months?
 
Isabelle Rome - All the measures are important and will be initiated this quarter!
 
Among my short-term priorities is the updating of the circular co-signed with the Minister of the Interior intended for the prefects to recall the objectives of the plan at the departmental level.
 
There is also the anti-racism education week which is held this year from March 20 to 26, with the aim of making it a first highlight of the implementation of the plan.
 
Several legislative projects are also planned in the short term, in particular that related to the arrest warrant for people convicted of serious acts of a racist or anti-Semitic nature, such as the denial of crimes against humanity.
 
In general, I repeat: I will closely monitor the implementation of the measures by all the stakeholders involved and we will make a first point during a monitoring committee before the summer.