 For more videos on people's struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. On Tuesday, February 16th, after 135 hours of debate, a new bill aimed at reinforcing Republican values was approved by the French National Assembly. The bill, officially named Respect for the Principles of the Republic, has been subject of fierce debate in civil society and among politicians. It will go to the Senate next month for final approval. The bill seeks oversight of mosques, schools and sports clubs, among other institutions, perpetually to protect France from Islamists. Though the bill does not mention Muslims or Islam, critics point out that this legislation is against Muslims. The French Communist Party's deputies in the parliament said that the bill will allow the right and power right to develop Islamophobic theories. This bill gives the government the power to dissolve or ban associations as it sees fit. The bill also introduces stricter financial control over foreign money sent to religious organizations. The bill, according to the government, is expected to strengthen Lysite, the French idea of secularism which calls for a strict separation of religion and state. The legislation will also tighten controls on homeschooling, online hate and aims to combat misogyny rooted in religion. The bill also allows the state to close places of worship and religious schools as well as to ban extremist preachers. The bill has been put forward in the context of recent attacks by religious extremists in the last few years. The murder of Samuel Patti, a school teacher, is said to have been a major trigger. Hundreds of activists, academics, journalists and religious figures gathered in Paris to protest the bill on February 12th. Critics have said that the proposed law will stigmatize Muslims and that the existing laws are enough to cover the issues sought to be addressed by the new legislation. Emmanuel Macron has often been accused of catering to the sentiments of the far right and appeasing them by exaggerating the danger of Islamist groups.