The bill is broad and controversial, with around 1,700 proposed amendments, and it guarantees heated debate for the next two weeks in the lower house.
Multiple attacks in France by Islamist extremists provide a backdrop for the bill, even if recent violence was committed by outsiders.
Other critics say the bill covers ground already addressed in current laws while far-right leader Marine Le Pen says the bill doesn’t go far enough or even name the enemy: radical Islam.
It is necessary because “French society, the French nation is traumatized by attacks and the reality of radical Islam.” While radicals are a minority, “it's minorities that make up history,” Bencheikh added.
The proposed law also seeks to halt the issuing by doctors of virginity certificates, the practice of polygamy and forced marriage.