French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira resigns to duty amidst flap over terrorism bill

By Staff Writer | Jan 28, 2016 07:40 AM EST

President Francois Hollande announced on Wednesday that France's Justice Minister decided to resign. The President claimed that Christiane Taubira made her resignation just ahead of a Cabinet meeting and hours prior to a Parliamentary commission takes up the citizenship bill.

According to Metro News, France's Justice Chief unexpectedly resigned on Wednesday. Her resignation came after her objection to President Francois Hollande's push to withdraw the citizenship from convicted terrorists with dual nationality.

The Dailymail UK claimed that Taubira is a devoted leftist best known for championing the legalization of gay marriage. She made clear to her Twitter account and stated, "sometimes to resist is to remain, sometimes to resist is to leave."

The French Justice Minister from French Guiana on the Caribbean coast, has been a pioneer for women and minorities in French politics. She had encountered tensions in the past with center -leaning Prime Minister Manuel Valls. She  is also being replaced by Jean-Jacques Urvoas, which is a lawmaker from Brittany who is known as a specialist of security issues within the Socialist Party, and seen as close to Valls.

With regards to the citizenship bill, which was prompted by the Paris attacks just last year on November 13, it became popular among conservatives. It has also been a most talked about topic for the far right, but it is especially divisive for the governing Socialists. Polls claim that most French support the idea, but critics fear that it would unfairly projected to the Muslims. Some would even compare it to the revocation of citizenship of French Jews during the World War II, as reported by the North Carolina News Now.

In fact, French and Belgian extremists linked to the Islamic State group, and some of Moroccan descent, were behind the Paris attacks. The series of attacks in the city killed 130 and wounded hundreds.

For now, Taubira was scheduled to head to the United States on Wednesday. The French justice chief is set to meet with the Attorney General Loretta Lynch and members of Black Lives Matter, and is expected to receive an honorary degree from the University of Wisconsin.

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