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France's Juppe, arts elite clash
February 17, 1997
Web posted at: 4:33 p.m. EDT (1633 GMT)PARIS (CNN) -- French Prime Minister Alain Juppe locked horns with France's artistic and intellectual elite Monday over an immigration bill under consideration by parliament. More than 3,000 filmmakers, actors, writers and academics have urged civil disobedience over the draft bill sanctioned by the center-right government, which they say mirrors the ideas of the far-right, anti-immigration National Front.
Juppe ruled out any softening of the bill, which requires French citizens to take responsibility for their international guests during their stay in France and declare when the visitors leave.
The head of France's Communist party urged leftist parties to back the intellectuals, saying the government was trying to encourage informing in a move reminiscent of collaboration with Nazi Germany during World War II.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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