Marine Le Pen, a far-right extremist has called for more mosques to be shut down in order to “curb” what she calls Islamic radicalism.

At least 24 mosques have reportedly closed around France the past years, which critics argue is an “attack on French Muslims”. France is reportedly a country that houses the largest Muslim population in all of Western Europe, home to millions of Muslims that migrated to France during the colonial era, mainly from North and Sub-Saharan Africa and lived there for generations.

Representatives of the mosques claim that the French government has not given enough public justification for its judgments in nearly every case involving mosque closures.

According to a Reuters report from earlier this year, authorities have a number of powers that, in the opinion of rights advocates, international organizations, including the United Nations, and members of the Muslim community, allow them to shut down places of worship without due process and with procedures that are so ambiguous that the decision cannot be reversed.

Marine Le Pen stated in a recent interview: “He (Darmanin) shuts a mosque here, shuts a mosque there. He dismisses an Imam sometimes, but he must close all extremist mosques in our land.”

The highest constitutional authority in France enacted a problematic “anti-separatism” bill two months back that has garnered criticism for singling out Muslims; yet, just two of the law’s components were declared unconstitutional.

The legislation discriminated against Muslims and ethnic minorities, denying them their rights and depicting them as “enemies within the state who exist in parallel civilizations that must be opposed.” Despite the government’s assurances that the measure will improve France’s secular system, critics say it curbs Muslim rights.

This is not the first time France has gathered criticism worldwide for its appeasing of far-right extremists. They tried to push bills that criminalised the donning of hijab until the age of 18 for which they were called out for having 15 as the age of content for sexual relationships.