Prime Minister Fillon Attends Mosque Opening North of Paris

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon attended the inauguration of a mosque in Argenteuil, a
suburb north of Paris, the first time a head of government has attended such an event. Fillon gave
a speech to the 800 dignitaries in which he denounced violence against Muslims in France. But
he also warned against religious fundamentalism.
Fillon said Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux had signed an agreement with the French Muslim
council (CFCM) which would allow the gathering of statistics of violence committed against
Muslims in France. He also said that he had asked Justice Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie to
increase the number of judges specially trained to fight racism and xenophobia. The mosque
was built for the Al Iihsan Islamic institute of France, on a 5,200-square-meter piece of land.
According to the institute, some 28,000 Muslims live in Argenteuil.

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