But the Republic was also guilty of less glorious accommodation

Poorly done, heavy election pointed, the debate on secularism, albeit in the form a minimum accepted today by the UMP, has already produced a result for the less paradoxical: to give the France the image of a country where the old Republican principle would be strongly disputed and where any debate on the subject would be necessarily passion. As if we were back a century back! The shaping of the concept of "French secularism" was long and turbulent, but which can attack it is today an integral part of the Republican Pact He has even acquired in 1946 a constitutional value, reaffirmed in the Constitution of the Republic V e and in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Council.

The France is the only European country to grant him a high legal value. Many of our neighbors are even very far from the French political philosophy. The reference to God is present in the first sentence of the preamble of the German Basic Law - "conscious of his responsibility before God and men ...". the German people... "- and should be remembered that European countries like Britain and the Greece have a State religion

Of course, this French Singularity did not prevent accommodation. On the basis of article 2 of the Act of 1905 - "the Republic does not recognize, not paid or subsidizes any religion" - throughout the last century, the authorities ensured to prevent subsidies indirect or disguised Catholic mayors to the Church. But it authorized at the same time that public money contributes to the funding of military chaplaincies! The legislature itself was able to depart from the strict principle of the law of 1905 by authorizing in 1926 the construction of the Paris Mosque on public funds, on the initiative of Edouard Herriot, secular figure. Or by allowing donations to religious organizations benefit from tax deductions... One might also cite the Concordat of Alsace-Moselle, allowed sprain but size to the principles set out in the Act of 1905, it had passed while this region was not connected to the France.

But the Republic was also guilty of less glorious accommodation. The colonial history provides Prime examples of the ambiguity of the Republican State: in Algeria, the native code provided a status staff mulsulman and Jew, in complete contradiction with all secular principles intended to but apply as in the other departments of the Republic. And what about the interests which it demonstrated in Mayotte, new 101 e French Department, where fully recognized Islamic courts apply Islamic law, where polygamy was legal and where gender equality exists in law that since... 2009!

Beyond the trial and error but also, sometimes the ambiguities that secularism in France, was built the question now is whether it should be strengthened. The fact is that today ' today, they are rather defenders of secularism which feel threatened by conspicuous considered demonstrations of religious, mainly Muslim, belonging. Where the laws on the veil and the burqa, the last to come into application in a few days. The finding of this malaise is not new. In 2003, the Ombudsman of the Republic Bernard Stasi was that "intrusive acts to secularism are more numerous, especially in public space". He even added that "extremist groups are at work in our country for testing the resistance of the Republic and to push some young people to reject the France and its values."

But the fact is that the "debate on the debate" has created all kinds of confusion. Confusion on the right when it said "secularism" in thinking "islam", "religious symbols" to "sail" or "prohibited food" in place of "halal". This difficulty to appoint may reflect an inhibition to islam, but not only: what does discuss the just, secularism or the place of islam in French society

Confusion also left, when a mixture of bad conscience and guilt Islamophobic leads that either their secular flag in their pocket, authentic Republicans believe justified to defend the wearing of the veil for the fight against discrimination. This is what happened to the dump, until a deliberation taken at the time of Louis Schweitzer be repudiated by the conseil de prud'hommes, the latter considering that the principle of secularism justified the dismissal of an employee refusing to remove her veil on his place of work. Include also a note of March 2011 of the Terra Nova, near Foundation of the Socialist Party, welcoming the "Community Dynamics" that would benefit society as a whole and advocating the development of a "powerful Muslim citizenship." Must it be inferred that should also promote "Christian citizenship" "Jewish citizenship" And what new meaning should then give the word citizenship, while our Constitution proclaims (section 2) "equality before the law for all citizens without distinction as to origin, race or religion"

This climate of confusion is all the more regrettable that the findings compiled there eight years by the commission Stasi remains valid. There are the territories of the Republic, at school, at the hospital, in some public places, where secularism is obviously not for everyone. Do not discuss or the truncated manner make and électroraliste, would be a failure for any of the political class.