The French government has once again provoked outrage around the world for its continuation of racist and Islamophobic comments and policies. This time, the criticism is over a series of measures included in President Macron’s latest plans to tackle what he calls radical Islam, including asking Muslim leaders in his country to agree to a “charter of republican values”. Most controversial especially is a move towards giving children an “identification number” to ensure they are attending school.

It is important to get the facts right when registering protests against a policy. The measure proposed by the French government is not, as some mistakenly believe, targeting only Muslim children to get an identification number. It is for all children as a policy of restrictions on home-schooling, with the number given to ensure they are attending school. It is important to get these details right and not overstate them, because even this policy, of giving all children identification numbers, is part of a more insidious Islamophobic strategy disguised as secular. The main target of this policy is to deter Islamic schooling, and again project the blame of extremism on Muslims in France. This is akin to other problematic policies of France—like the ban on veils, disguised in theory as part of France’s secularism, is in actuality discriminatory specifically against Muslim women.

The bill is so far just a proposal and will be discussed by the French cabinet next month. It is undeniably a ridiculous law premised on perpetuating racism and suspicion against Muslims. All other countries should register their protest against France’s alarming turn to what can be increasingly called fascist tendencies. Not only are these proposed measures racist, but they are also counterproductive; they will lead to more radicalism, instead of less.