US won’t join WHO-led effort for coronavirus vaccine

The Trump administration has said that the United States will not be joining the COVAX alliance headed by the WHO, which aims at developing and mass distributing any potential coronavirus vaccine.

    

The United States will not join an international effort to develop and distribute vaccination for the coronavirus, as it does not want to be restricted by multilateral groups like the World Health Organization, officials said on Tuesday.

"The United States will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China," the Washington Post first quoted White House spokesman Judd Deere as saying.

"This president will spare no expense to ensure that any new vaccine maintains our own Food and Drug Administration's gold standard for safety and efficacy, is thoroughly tested and saves lives."

Read more: EU joins WHO's coronavirus vaccine alliance, offers €400 million investment

While some countries are striking bilateral deals to secure supplies of potential COVID-19 vaccines, a major cooperative effort has been set in motion by over 150 countries under the leadership of the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the vaccine alliance Gavi.

The COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, or COVAX, has received support from traditional US allies, including Japan, the European Union and Germany. The initiative will allow members to gain access to a range of potential vaccines so that a larger section of the world can be covered when an effective solution is developed.

Shortsighted approach to the pandemic

Critics have voiced concerns over the US decision to step away from the alliance, calling it "shortsighted" in the face of a global pandemic.

"Joining COVAX is a simple measure to guarantee US access to a vaccine — no matter who develops it first," tweeted US Representative Ami Bera from the state of California, who is also a medical doctor. "This go-it-alone approach leaves America at risk of not getting a vaccine."

The other major possibility could be that the US develops its vaccine but hoards it to vaccinate citizens. This would leave the country vulnerable to imported cases of the virus and impact the US economy harshly if the global economy has not recovered.

US withdrawal from the WHO

Trump has repeatedly criticized the WHO for its early response to the outbreak, and has accused the agency of colluding with China and participating in a cover-up of information about the virus.

In April, the Trump administration announced a freeze on US funding to the United Nations subsidiary, followed by the decision to terminate ties with the intergovernmental organization. By July, the US communicated its intent to withdraw from the WHO.

Mauritian citizen becomes powerful voice for oil spill anger



Issued on: 02/09/2020 -

Bruneau Laurette has channelled the anger that many Mauritians feel after the catastrophic oil spill Fabien Dubessay AFP
4 min
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Port Louis (Mauritius) (AFP)

In normal times, Bruneau Laurette spends his days providing armed escort to ships dodging pirates as they head through the Indian Ocean.

But in recent weeks, the maritime security expert has surged into a new role: the voice of a nation's anger after an oil spill soiled the coast of his native Mauritius.

The disaster occurred after a 100,000-tonne Japanese bulk carrier, MV Wakashio, ran aground on a coral reef on July 25.


It spewed more than 1,000 tonnes of oil into pristine waters that are home to mangrove forests and endangered species and are vital for fishermen and the country's tourist industry.

After the 300-metre (1,000-foot) ship split in two, the larger piece was towed out to sea and sunk, but the smaller section remains stranded on the reef.

Public anger continues to mount. On Saturday, in one of the country's biggest rallies in years, tens of thousands of black-clad people took to the streets of the capital Port Louis in response to Laurette's call for a protest over what he sees as a flawed government response.

"The number exceeded my expectations," Laurette said of the crowd size during an interview with AFP.

- Government 'breakdown' -

The outspoken Laurette -- a muscular 46-year-old with a shaved head who often wears military-style garb -- has given voice to Mauritians concerned about the long-term damage caused by the spill.

"I don't feel anger. My feelings are more of sadness, when I see the incompetence," he said.

It is still unclear why the MV Wakashio veered so close to the coast, and Laurette believes an explanation is long overdue.

He has also chastised the government for failing to recognise the gravity of the threat and for taking too long to start pumping oil from the ship, which only began leaking fuel more than a week after it ran aground.

In a crisis "we cannot carry on as we do every day," he said. "We have to adapt to the situation and evolve. But here we have a tendency to wait and wait. But we cannot do this. That's why I say there was a breakdown."

The government has vowed to seek compensation from the owner and the insurer of the ship for "all losses and damages" caused by the spill as well as clean-up costs.

But Laurette says he doesn't trust the government to hold to account local officials who may share in the blame.

This is why he filed his own legal complaint -- dragging two government ministers in front of a court -- saying he was "aggrieved and afflicted" by the massive spill.

He also filed a complaint against the Indian captain of the ship, who was separately arrested by Mauritian authorities.

In his affidavit, Laurette described how he would go swimming in Blue Bay and take his children for picnics on the Ile aux Aigrettes -- both areas affected by the spill.

"I also used to buy fish and seafood, oysters and crabs, from local fishermen at Mahebourg."

-'Hungry for justice'-

Laurette has also called for the resignation of Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, a move praised by many Mauritians who took part in Saturday's protest.

Jugnauth, who took office in 2017, is the son of former Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth.

His critics, Laurette among them, lament the fact that a select group of families have played an outsized role in Mauritian politics.

Protesters on Saturday went beyond the oil spill to denounce corruption, inequality and a government they say is increasingly authoritarian.

"I don't believe he is humble enough to step down," Laurette told AFP, denouncing Pravind Jugnauth's "oversized ego" and "arrogance".

In the first weeks after the oil spill, the prime minister dismissed criticism of his response and refused to apologise.

But in a televised address Monday evening, he said he had "heard" his critics and vowed to open a public inquiry into the disaster.

"That's just the warming up," he said. "It hasn't started yet."

© 2020 AFP

Mauritius asks Japan to pay $34 million after oil spill: report
Nearly a month after Mauritius declared an environmental emergency over an oil spill from a Japanese bulk carrier, the government has asked Japan to pay up, a report shows.



Mauritius has asked Japan to pay close to 3.6 billion yen (€28.5 billion, $34 million) in order to support local fishermen whose livelihoods were adversely impacted by an oil leak last month, according to a Mauritian government document accessed by Japanese news agency Kyodo News.

The spill occurred when Japanese bulk carrier MV Wakashio, owned by Nagashiki Shipping Co., crashed into a reef off southeastern Mauritius in July. More than 1,000 tons of oil spilled into waters that are home to mangrove forests and endangered species, causing Mauritius to declare a "state of environmental emergency" on August 7.

As the island nation attempts to control the spread of the fuel, there has been considerable debate over who will pay for the damage inflicted on sea life and those who are dependent on it for their livelihoods.

Read more: Who will pay for the Mauritius oil spill?

According to the document cited by Kyodo, Mauritius has estimated a cost of over $30 million for constructing 100 fishing boats, while over $240,000 would be used for providing training to 475 fishermen and 60 skippers who may not have experience fishing in rough seas.

Over $3 million has been requested for renovating Mauritius' Albion Fisheries Research Center, which was built in the 1980s with Japanese assistance.

According to the Japanese agency, an official from the Embassy of Japan in Mauritius confirmed that various requests had been received. The official said, "It is true that we are currently receiving various requests. Japan is working to promptly do all that it can."

Over the weekend, Mauritius saw large scale demonstrations in the capital, the biggest protests the country has seen in 40 years. Close to 75,000 protesters marched against Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth's inaction in dealing with the crisis, calling for the leader and many top officials to step down.

Signs such as "Your incompetence is destroying our island," "You have no shame," and "I've seen better Cabinets at IKEA" were carried by protesters, who were also outraged over the alarming discovery of dozens of dead dolphins in recent days.

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Mauritius arrests captain of Japanese ship over oil spill

The Japanese-owned bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground in July, causing a devastating oil spill near a protected coral reef. Police from the island nation have detained the ship's captain. 

AUDIOS AND VIDEOS ON THE TOPIC
Oil spill on Mauritian coast threatens tourism and livelihoods

Date 02.09.2020
Author Seerat Chabba
Related Subjects Climate Change, Japan
Keywords Mauritius, oil spill, japan, climate change

Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3htAS

Over 30% of LGBT+ people in Germany experience discrimination at work
More than 40% of transgender people have reported negative treatment at work. LGBT+ people tend to be more highly educated and work more often in health and social services.



Thirty-percent of homosexual people and more than 40% of transgender people in Germany reported being discriminated against at work, according to a study issued Wednesday by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).

According to the study, homosexual people and transgender people are employed to a similar extent as the heterosexual population, but they are usually more highly qualified, according to the report, made available to the Funke Media Group. For example, the proportion of LGBT+ who have graduated from technical school and university is 60%, compared to 42% of the rest of the population.

LGBT asylum in Germany: Similar cases, different outcome

Read more: Germany reveals details of compensation plan for gay soldiers

LGBT+ people work less often in the manufacturing industry, but more often in health and social services as well as the arts and entertainment industries than the rest of the German population.

"The figures are consistent with what we know from our own surveys and also from our counseling practice," Bernhard Franke, acting head of the Federal Anti-Discrimination Office, told Funke.

Read more: German parliament debates relaxing blood donation rules for LGBT+ men

LGBT+ people often experience forms of bullying and harassment at work and so frequently keep their sexual identity a secret, said Franke. "No one should be discriminated against in Germany because of their sexual or gender identity," he said.

Transgender people have to deal with a particularly high level of discrimination, Franke said, adding that studies show people's name changes are often not accepted. Transgender people often face, for example, "an inappropriate, often sexualized interest in private life, imitating or ridiculing voices or gestures or not being able to use toilets according to one's gender identity," he said.

Read more: European LGBT+ equality survey shows east-west divide

Franke added that employers should be the first to take action: "Companies should emphasize and promote diversity, not hide it. In addition, it is important to intervene as soon as discrimination is recognized."

Extremists could hijack coronavirus rallies in Germany, warns BfV head
Protests against coronavirus lockdown measures have been gaining momentum. Extremists could now use the movement for their own ends, the chief of Germany's domestic security agency, Thomas Haldenwang, told DPA.


The recent anti-lockdown protests have seen many different groups take to the streets to decry the government's efforts to curb the pandemic. However, right-wing extremists could use the protest movement for their own ends, the head of Germany's domestic security agency BfV, Thomas Haldenwang, said on Tuesday.

"Right-wing extremists and Reichsbürger [members] succeeded in occupying a resonant space, creating powerful images and thus exploiting the heterogeneous protest events," Haldenwang told the DPA news agency.

The 60-year-old lawyer has served as the head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, or BfV, since November 2018.

Read more: German government slams Reichstag far-right rush as 'shameful'

Authorities' concerns about the protests appeared to have been confirmed, added Haldenwang.

'Shameful' attempt to storm the Reichsta

Police had initially banned the anti-coronavirus lockdown protests on safety grounds. They were also concerned protesters would not obey social-distancing and coronavirus health guidelines.

But the rally went ahead in Berlin on Saturday after the police ban was overruled by a last-minute court ruling. Some 38,000 protesters attended.

During the protests, around 300 to 400 protesters rushed the steps of the Reichstag building, where the lower house of Germany's parliament convenes.


THE REICHSBÜRGER MOVEMENT IN GERMANY
What do Reichsbürger believe?
"Reichsbürger" translates to "citizens of the Reich." The nebulous movement rejects the modern German state, and insists that the German Empire's 1937 or 1871 borders still exist and the modern country is an administrative construct still occupied by Allied powers. For Reichsbürger, the government, parliament, judiciary and security agencies are puppets installed and controlled by foreigners.

International parallels, conspiracy theories

Reichsbürger have been seen waving Russian flags, leading to allegations that they are funded by Russia with the aim to destabilize the German government. Germany's Reichsbürger are also compared to US groups such as "freemen-on-the-land," who believe that they are bound only by laws they consent to and can therefore declare themselves independent of the government and the rule of law.

Author: Samantha Early, Rina Goldenberg

THE REICHSBÜRGER MOVEMENT IN GERMANY

Who are its members? One was Mr. Germany

According to German authorities, the average Reichsbürger is 50 years old, male, and is socially and financially disadvantaged. The movement's members are concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of Germany. Adrian Ursache, a former winner of the Mister Germany beauty pageant, is also a Reichsbürger and was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2019 for shooting and injuring a policeman.

MORE PHOTOS 1234567

Warnings were unheeded

The BfV has repeatedly warned that right-wing extremists could try to take the lead in the "very diverse demonstrations," Haldenwang commented to DPA.

Haldenwang's office had noted "increased mobilization by right-wing extremists" both before and during the demonstrations.

The agency has noted various right-wing groups at the rally, including the New Right, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) affiliated Young Alternatives — that has officially disbanded — as well as Reichsbürger members.

"We are observing closely whether the right-wing amalgamation takes on an even larger dimension and whether these actors are becoming capable of connecting with each other," Haldenwang told DPA.

Russia steps up support for Belarus' Lukashenko

Issued on: 02/09/2020 -

Belarusian law enforcement detained over 100 students at Tuesday demonstrations in Minsk - TUT.BY/AFP/File

Moscow (AFP)

Russia on Wednesday issued strong support for beleaguered Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko following weeks of opposition protests, stepping up official contacts and vowing to defend the ex-Soviet neighbours' alliance.

Moscow has recognised as legitimate disputed elections in which the Belarusian strongman claimed a sixth term, while opposition challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has declared herself the true winner.

Now the two governments have announced high-level political and military meetings in the coming days.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will arrive in Minsk on Thursday. He will be the most senior Russian official to make a public visit since the political crisis broke out over disputed presidential polls on August 9, with economic aid likely to top the agenda.

The Kremlin earlier this week announced that President Vladimir Putin would host Lukashenko in the coming weeks.

Russia has close ties with Belarus and props up Lukashenko's regime, in place for 26 years, with economic support.

President Vladimir Putin is keen to fully unify the countries, a project Lukashenko has opposed. But Moscow has accompanied its offers of military aid with calls for tighter integration.

Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin is due to arrive in Moscow on Friday for a meeting of ex-Soviet defence chiefs.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made his most extensive comments on the crisis so far at a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei in Moscow on Wednesday.

He vowed that Moscow would "firmly respond" to any attempts to "sway the situation" in Belarus, accusing Moscow's foes of attempting to "tear Belarus away from Russia" and undermine their shared union state, which includes economic and military ties.

Lavrov also backed a proposal for constitutional reforms that Lukashenko has raised, while giving few details of what this would entail.

Lavrov acknowledged that many protesters are peaceful but alleged that foreign groups, particularly from nationalist groups in Ukraine, were pushing to spark violence.

He accused the European Union and NATO of "destructive statements" after NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia not to "interfere" in Belarus and the EU agreed to draw up a list of people to target with sanctions.

Russia's top diplomat also ruled out the possibility of negotiation with the opposition's Coordination Council, set up to organise a peaceful handover of power, as its leaders have proposed.

"We think there's no point in meeting," Lavrov said.

- No 'colour revolution' -

One of the council's most prominent members, former diplomat and arts minister Pavel Latushko, said Wednesday that he had left the country for Poland and Lithuania, where he will meet Tikhanovskaya, who has taken shelter there.

"When I'll come back to Belarus, I don't know," he said, after being summoned for questioning along with other members in a criminal probe that the authorities have opened into alleged attempts to seize power. Several council members are now being held in detention.

Foreign minister Makei claimed that the situation in Belarus was calming down, despite police cracking down more harshly on daily protests.

"We agreed that internal contradictions in Belarus will be lifted within the nearest future," he said, stressing the country had avoided a "colour revolution" overthrowing a pro-Kremlin leader, like those seen in other ex-Soviet states such as Ukraine.

The latest of three huge protest marches was held at the weekend with more than 100,000 people attending. Police cracked down on student protests on Tuesday, detaining 128 people, according to the interior ministry.

The diplomatic meeting came as five Belarusian journalists who had been covering demonstrations faced a court hearing for participating in illegal protests. Lukashenko has sought to impede wide coverage of demonstrations and revoked accreditations of journalists for international media.

Lukashenko on Tuesday thanked Russian state television network RT for its "support", amid reports that the broadcaster sent staff to Minsk after some Belarusians working for state networks resigned in protest.

© 2020 AFP

After the Beirut blast: The hopes and fears of Lebanon's youth

REPORTERS © FRANCE 24

By:Cyril PAYEN|Bilal TARABEY

15 min

After the deadly explosion that hit the port of Beirut on August 4 and destroyed part of the city, amid a backdrop of government negligence, corruption and popular revolt, Lebanon is on its knees and seems trapped in a downward spiral. From the rubble of the central neighbourhoods of the Lebanese capital to the Shiite south along the Israeli border, our reporters Cyril Payen and Bilal Tarabey followed the daily life of a group of young friends. They tell us about their fears, hopes and dreams with the sincerity of those who have nothing left to lose.

‘Hollywood created a myth’: Hotel Rwanda hero’s tarnished reputation
Issued on: 02/09/2020 -
Consultant Paul Rusesabagina, who's story "Hotel Rwanda" is based on, signs the movie's poster for charity prior to the Q & A following the Variety Screening Series - "Hotel Rwanda" at the ArcLight Theater on December 6, 2004 in Hollywood, California. Getty Images/AFP - Stephen Shugerman

Text by:Sarah LEDUC

Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda by saving more than 1,200 fellow Rwandans during the 1994 genocide, was arrested by Rwandan police on Monday on charges including “terrorism”. Rusesabagina’s family accuses Paul Kagame’s government of wanting to silence a famous critic – but his reputation had already been tarnished.

Rusesabagina was arrested on August 31 in the Rwandan capital Kigale, accused of being “the founder, leader, sponsor and member of violent, armed, extremist terror outfits” in the Great Lakes region, the Rwanda Bureau of Investigation (RIB) wrote on Twitter.

The arrest was a bombshell for Rusesabagina’s family. This long-standing opponent of President Kagame, now a Belgian citizen and American resident, had been living in exile for more than twenty years. “We are not aware of how he got there [to Rwanda] and how this happened,” his daughter Anaise Kanimba told the BBC. “This is why we believe he was kidnapped because he would never go to Rwanda on his own will.”

Consequently, his family believe that he was kidnapped in Dubai and taken to Rwanda to be arrested there. “We believe he was kidnapped because he would never go to Rwanda on his own will,” Kanimba continued.

The RIB said that Rusesabagina had been arrested thanks to international co-operation, although its deputy spokesman Thierry Murangira refused to clarify the circumstances of the arrest, saying that it could jeopardise the investigation.

Kagame’s government has mainly criticised Rusesabagina for his role in financing the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, an armed group active in the east of DR Congo formed by Hutus responsible for the 1994 genocide. In 2018, Rwandan authorities filed an arrest warrant against Rusesabagina for funding a guerrilla war, in which the armed group has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Rwanda.

Kanimba, who lives in Washington, argued that the charges against her father are politically motivated. Describing him as a defender of human rights, she said the charges against him are “baseless” and called on the US and Belgium to “help us get him home”.

During his years in exile, Rusesabagina founded the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change and for years criticised Kagame for silencing opposition. In power since 1994, Kagame has often been accused of authoritarianism, of suppressing all forms of internal dissent and exiling critical voices. Human Rights Watch has accused his government of summary executions, unlawful detentions and torture.

In making the case for the US and Belgian authorities to help her father, Kanimba highlighted his heroic role as a rescuer during the Rwandan genocide. This role saw his life turned into a Hollywood film when Terry George made Hotel Rwanda in 2004 – featuring the “true story” of the manager of the Hotel des Milles Collines in Kigali, who did everything he could to prevent the genocidal regime’s forces from entering the hotel.

Rusesabagina took charge of the luxury establishment on April 12, 1994, when ethnic Tutsis were being hunted down across the country. Many sought refuge in this renowned hotel, and 1,248 people were saved.

After the film’s release in 2004, Rusesabagina became an international hero. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush in 2005 – the year before he published his memoir An Ordinary Man, which was translated into several languages. He held audiences to tell his story with such public figures as Muhammad Ali, Barack Obama and Condoleezza Rice.

But little by little, the hero’s image faded. In 2012, an article for German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung described the former hotel manager as a “cynical profiteer” who made money through genocide, making his hosts pay for their survival. Rusesabagina did not deny making profits, but highlighted the lives he saved.

“Hollywood created a myth; it wasn’t real,” Étienne Nsanzimana, president of the Ibuka association representing victims of the genocide, told FRANCE 24. “Rusesabagina saw the hotel in 1994 and decided to take it over to serve his own interests – then he sold his story.”

This article was translated from the original in French.

Australia enters first recession in almost three decades

Issued on: 02/09/2020

People wearing masks walk through the city centre as the state of New South Wales continues to report low numbers for new daily cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Sydney, Australia, August 28, 2020. © REUTERS/Loren Elliott

Text by:NEWS WIRES

Australia has entered its first recession since 1991 after the economy shrank 7 percent in the second quarter, official figures showed Wednesday, as the country reels from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said it was the fastest quarterly contraction on record and ends a three-decade run of economic growth that was undented even by the global financial crisis.

The bureau's head of national accounts, Michael Smedes, said the pandemic and containment efforts were to blame for the "unprecedented" drop that exceeded previous records "by a wide margin".

A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction. Australia's economy shrank 0.3 percent in the previous three months.

The widely expected result is in line with earlier government predictions that gross domestic product would contract seven percent in April-June.

"The June quarter saw a significant contraction in household spending on services as households altered their behaviour and restrictions were put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus," Smedes said.

Hours worked fell almost 10 percent while cash payments of social benefits rose more than 40 percent, both records for the country.

Trade also took a hit during the quarter, with imports of goods down 2.4 percent and exports of services dropping 18.4 percent, the bureau's figures showed.

The government has stumped up tens of billions of dollars to fight the economic fallout from pandemic. Australia's forced shutdown earlier in the year crippled the economy and a current lockdown of five million people in Melbourne has compounded its problems.

The country was already reeling from a prolonged drought and massive bushfires that had rattled the economy before the disease struck.

Australia has now confirmed almost 26,000 cases of Covid-19 and 663 deaths from the virus, the vast majority in Melbourne and its surrounds since July.

The government in July predicted a return to growth in the third quarter as virus restrictions eased. But the closure of non-essential businesses in Melbourne, the country's second-biggest city, could stifle the recovery.

Authorities expect national unemployment to peak at 9.3 percent in December and the budget deficit to blow out to almost a tenth of GDP by mid-2021.

(AFP)

Is France's unapologetic 'freedom to blaspheme' in peril?



Issued on: 02/09/2020 - 07:56Modified: 02/09/2020 - 07:58

A woman walks past a painting by French street artist and painter Christian Guemy, known as C215, in tribute to members of Charlie Hebdo newspaper who were killed by jihadist gunmen in January 2015, in Paris, on August 31, 2020. AFP - THOMAS COEX

Text by:NEWS WIRES


Their nation born of revolt against Church and Crown, the French have long cherished provocation and irreverence as part of their revolutionary identity.

And with it the freedom to blaspheme.

But observers say a deep-rooted tradition of unapologetically poking fun at men and gods alike may be in peril five years after the deadly jihadist attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the national flag-bearer of outrageous commentary.

As many as two million people and 40 world leaders marched in Paris after the massacre in January 2015, in a fierce defence of freedom of expression eternalised by the rallying cry: "I am Charlie".

But as 14 suspected accomplices go on trial over the attacks on Wednesday, some seem to have lost their appetite for affront.

Only half of French respondents to a survey conducted by pollsters Ifop for Charlie Hebdo in February this year said they supported the "right to criticise, even outrageously, a religious belief, symbol or dogma."

Most opponents were under 25.

This is a shift for the first country in Europe to decriminalise blasphemy -- officially in 1881, but in practice already in the aftermath of the 1789 revolution.

"In a world that calls itself secular, a France that describes itself as less and less religious, blasphemy has paradoxically become a major taboo," said Anastasia Colosimo, a professor of political theology at the Sciences Po university in Paris.

"Anti-clericalism or atheism is increasingly seen as offensive. It is no longer fashionable."

Defiant as ever, Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday republished hugely controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed to mark the start of the trial, including a cartoon of the prophet drawn by its cartoonist Cabu, who lost his life in the massacre.

"All of this, just for that," the front-page headline said. Director Laurent "Riss" Sourisseau wrote in an editorial: "We will never lie down. We will never give up."

French President Emmanuel Macron responded to the news by paying tribute to the victims of the attack on Charlie Hebdo and defending the "freedom to blaspheme".

'Heart of identity'

"The refusal of the concept of blasphemy is imprinted in the very origins of the (French) republic," political historian Jean Garrigues told AFP.\\

"It is linked to the history of the Church, to the supremacy of the Catholic Church in French society and (its) association with the monarchy" overthrown by revolutionary republicans.

"It is something that truly goes to the heart of French identity."

But some have pointed to a creeping tendency to self-censor, driven partly by fear of violent retribution of the kind unleashed on Charlie Hebdo by brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi five years ago that killed 12 people, including five cartoonists.

"With the attack of 2015, the reality of risking one's life resulted in even stronger self-censorship," said Colosimo.

Charlie Hebdo prides itself on being an equal-opportunity offender of bigots and religious leaders of all persuasions. But it came in for particular criticism for some of its Mohammed drawings, and not only from Muslims.

'Consensual' cartoons

Others say the publication has lost its zest, and one of its most outspoken journalists, Zineb El Rhazoui, quit in 2017 claiming it has gone soft on Islamist extremism.

But she applauded its decision to reprint the cartoons, describing it as a victory for the "right to blaspheme".

Riss, who lost the use of his right arm but survived the 2015 attack by playing dead, told AFP in January there was a general tendency in France for political cartoons to be "extremely consensual".

Critics say freedom-of-expression protections have progressively been watered down.

In 1972, the so-called Pleven Law, in a bid to fight racism, created the offences of insult, defamation, and incitement to hatred, violence or discrimination.

Holocaust denial has been illegal in France since 1990.

"Since the Pleven Law, we have only toughened prohibitions, increased penalties and reduced ... rights," said Colosimo.

'Insult' to religion

In January, a renewed debate about freedom of expression erupted when a teenager received death threats for calling Islam "a shitty religion" in an expletive-laden Instagram rant.

France's then-justice minister Nicole Belloubet, while decrying the threats against the girl, came in for widespread criticism for saying she had committed an "insult to religion".

President Emmanuel Macron came out in a strong defence of the teenager, Mila, and the right of all French people "to blaspheme, to criticise, to caricature religion".

"Freedom of expression does not exist to protect pleasant discussions," said Colosimo. "It is there to protect discussions which offend, which shock, which alarm."

(AFP)