ORIGINAL FRENCH ARTICLE: Une proposition de loi contre le fichage des syndicalistes
by anonymous
Translated Friday 7 January 2011, by Henry Crapo
and reviewed byOn Dec. 28, French Communist Party deputy Pierre Gosnat came to Perpignan to support Philippe Galano
On Dec. 28, French Communist Party deputy Pierre Gosnat came to Perpignan to support Philippe Galano [1]. Gosnat, who represents the Val-de-Marne, outlined the bill that he has tabled in the French National Assembly: “It is a question of excluding trade union activists from the provisions of the law on internal security, and not forcing them to provide DNA samples,” Gosnat said. “In just a few years, France has begun applying drastic security measures. In the year 2000, DNA samples from 2,000 people were on file. Today, 1.2 million samples are on file. And the data bank is growing by 30,000 names a month! Political and trade union activists are treated as criminals.”
[1] Translator’s note: Philippe Galano is one of four ASF des Pyrénées Orientales workers who were laid off in 2003 (he was active in his trade union, the CGT, at the national level). After seven years of legal proceedings, the gendarmes came to his home at a weekend to take a DNA sample. Mr. Galano refused to submit to a DNA test and as a result he is threatened with one to two years in prison and a fine of 18,000 to 30,000 euros. Information from:
http://www.legrandsoir.info/Philippe-GALANO-Pourquoi-je-refuse-le-prelevement-ADN.html, dated April 9, 2010