“You have been chased out of your home because you raised your voice against the inhumanity of fanaticism,” Delanoe told a Paris city council meeting. “You are at home here, in this city where men are born and live free and equal and where no one is condemned for their views,” said the Socialist mayor.

Describing Nasreen as a “woman of exemplary courage and a freedom fighter”, Delanoe submitted a resolution to the city council proclaiming her an honorary citizen, and the measure was expected to win approval.

Nasreen was forced to flee Bangladesh in 1994 after radical Muslims accused her of blasphemy over her novel “Lajja” — or “Shame” — which depicts the life of a Hindu family persecuted by Muslims in the country.

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