France targets groups, websites with expanded powers under anti-terror law

FILE PHOTO: French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin speaks during a news conference after the weekly cabinet meeting discussions over a bill to fight what Macron has called Islamist separatism at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, December 9, 2020. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/Pool/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - The French government said this week it was closing down an activist-run media outlet and a Muslim website deemed at odds with "national values", the latest in a series of steps that rights groups and lawyers say infringe on democratic freedoms.

Following a violent protest against the extreme right in Nantes, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said he would shut down "Nantes Révoltée", a local media platform, which had relayed information about the protest.