---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: La Quadrature du Net <contact@laquadrature.net>
Date: Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 6:36 PM
Subject: [opennetcoalition] Together in Sorrow, Looking at the Future
To: opennetcoalition@laquadrature.net


Themes: DEMOCRACY, LIBERTIES, PARIS

La Quadrature du Net – For immediate release

Permanent link: https://www.laquadrature.net/en/together-in-sorrow-looking-at-the-future


Together in Sorrow, Looking at the Future



*** Paris, 16 November 2015 — Together with the people from France and from all around the
world, La Quadrature du Net mourns the dead. After the attacks on Friday 13 November in Paris
and Saint-Denis, the group is committed to contribute to a political response that is based on a
careful assessment of what has led us to this tragedy. ***

Friday 13 November, criminal acts of astounding violence hit Paris, striking French society at
its core. La Quadrature du Net's board and operational team wish to express their condolences to
the victims' loved-ones and share their deep sorrow.

Obviously, France is no longer safe from the massacres occurring on a daily basis in many parts
of the world, in particular in the Middle East. In the face of such a tragedy, we must now take
a hard look at reality and not be afraid of facing the complex causes that led to these events.
It would be completely absurd and simply ineffective to react with more emergency measures and
new generalised restrictions to civil rights.

Unfortunately, given recent political statements, we fear that the only response will lie in
further bombings in the Middle-East and the escalation of security measures evermore harmful to
fundamental rights. But when will we take the time to carefully analyse the failed policies
carried on for the past fifteen years on a global scale, and through dozens of laws in France?

In the light of the declaration of the state of emergency and of political statements made over
the weekend, La Quadrature du Net solemnly asks political leaders to take the time to reflect
and engage in a rigorous, critical and transparent evaluation of France's international,
diplomatic, military, geo-strategic and commercial commitments; to think about the strategy of
intelligence services and to complete a thorough examination of their workings; to defeat a
warmongering rhetoric drive us towards a "clash of civilisations" doubled with an internal civil
conflict within our society; to also address the tensions that ripple through French society,
the identity-related tensions stirred by a part of the political and media elite, the shared
responsibilities into the largely misunderstood phenomenon of violent radicalisation, the
dissolving of perspectives for social progress.

La Quadrature du Net defends fundamental rights and liberties in the digital sphere. If today we
are inviting a debate on issues that might seem removed from our usual concerns, it is because
we are convinced that they directly affect the very conditions of citizenship, of peace, and are
currently largely missing from the public debate. We are also convinced that freedom and
security are mutually reinforcing.

To overcome these challenges, we are calling for a collective, wide-ranging reflection. These
debates must be carried out transparently vis-à-vis citizens and must draw from the expressions,
doubts, criticisms, hopes and expectations of all, without fear.

In one word, we are calling for more democracy.


** About La Quadrature du Net **


La Quadrature du Net is an advocacy group that defends the rights and freedoms of citizens on
the Internet. More specifically, it advocates for the adaptation of French and European
legislations to respect the founding principles of the Internet, most notably the free
circulation of knowledge.

In addition to its advocacy work, the group also aims to foster a better understanding of
legislative processes among citizens. Through specific and pertinent information and tools, La
Quadrature du Net hopes to encourage citizens' participation in the public debate on rights and
freedoms in the digital age.

La Quadrature du Net is supported by French, European and international NGOs including the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Society Institute and Privacy International.

List of supporting organisations:
https://www.laquadrature.net/en/they-support-la-quadrature-du-net


** Press contact and press room **

contact@laquadrature.net, +33 (0)972 294 426

https://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room




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