Catherine Picard is a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 from the French Socialist Party. She was earlier a member of the French National Assembly

French National Assembly

The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....

.

Career

Responsible for public education

Public education

State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...

, Picard was elected on June 1, 1997 to the French Socialist Party. With centrist senator Nicolas About

Nicolas About

Nicolas About is a French politician from the centrist MoDem. he is a member of the French Senate and President of the Centrist Union group. About was the mayor of Montigny-le-Bretonneux from 1977 to 2004. He was elected senator of Yvelines on September 24, 1995, and reelected on September 26,...

, Picard drafted the About-Picard law

About-Picard law

The 2001 About-Picard law [abu pika:r] , a piece of French legislation, broadly speaking, makes it possible to act against organisations when such organisations have become involved in certain crimes...

, on June 12, 2001. She also has close ties to politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon

Jean-Luc Mélenchon

Jean-Luc Mélenchon is a French politician who served in the government of France as Minister of Vocational Education from 2000 to 2002. He was also a member of the Senate of France, representing the Essonne department...

. Picard is president of the Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu

Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu

The Union nationale des associations de défense des familles et de l'individu is a French anti-cult association founded in 1974, recognized as a public utility association by a decree of 30 April 1996, and directly subsidized by the French State...

 (UNADFI). Picard is the regional adviser of Haute-Normandie

Haute-Normandie

Upper Normandy is one of the 27 regions of France. It was created in 1984 from two départements: Seine-Maritime and Eure, when Normandy was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. This division continues to provoke controversy, and some continue to call for reuniting the two regions...

.

Published works

• Sectes, democratie et mondialisation., PUF, 2002, with Anne Fournier.

External links

• Official page as a deputy

Media

• Creation of a third investigation commission on 'sects', April 7, 2006
• Cult crackdown called extreme, The Globe and Mail, June 12, 2001
• France arms itself with legal weapon to fight sects, The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  , June 1, 2001
• Church attacks new French anti-cult law, The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  , June 23, 2000
• French assembly approves controversial anti-sect bill, June 22, 2000
• French Anti-Religious Sect Legislation, PBS
  Public Broadcasting Service
  The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
  
  , July 28, 2000
• France to crack down on sects, The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  , June 14, 2000
• Archived articles on Picard law, California State University
  California State University
  The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
  
  , College of Humanities and Social Sciences