Macron stirs controversy with defence of French secularism
President Emmanuel Macron has stirred controversy even beyond the Muslim world with a staunch defence of the French model for secularism and integration of minorities in the wake of a string of attacks blamed on Islamist radicals.
The approach of Macron to the integration of Europe's major Muslim community and his combative rhetoric towards radical Islam have been called into question not only in angry protests in Islamic countries but by English-language newspapers and even international political allies.
"Is France fuelling Muslim terrorism by trying to avoid it?" browse the headline in a recently available column in the brand new York Times. The Washington Post newspaper advised him to fight racism instead of make an effort to "reform Islam".
Analysts say his stance and the response has highlighted how the French method of the integration of immigrants contrasts to that of countries like Britain and Canada that make an effort to accommodate minorities by permitting them to retain a separate identity.
"The French model is founded on assimilation, although in practise it generally does not always work so well," said Francois Heisbourg, special adviser at the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research.
"There is merely one France, not really a group of Muslims, a group of Sikhs etc, like in Canada," he added.
Domestic support for a company line on the necessity for immigrants to embrace French values is more powerful than ever because the grisly beheading last month of schoolteacher Samuel Paty, who showed his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a lesson on free speech.
Paying tribute to the slain teacher, Macron defended France's strict make of secularism and its long tradition of satire. "We won't give up cartoons," he vowed.
These comments came on the heels of a speech in early October where he described Islam as being "in crisis" and assailed "Islamist separatism" in elements of France.
His approach did win some applause in Western media, with the Economist publishing a piece entitled "Voltaire's heirs -- France is right to defend free speech."
Raja Ben Slama, a Tunisian professor of humanities and Arab civilisations, defended his comments on cartoons last month, saying he spoke as the "president of a democratic country -- with a tradition of secularism and freedom to blaspheme."
She stressed however that the French "must respect others' particularities and prevent stigmatising veiled women, for instance."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with whom Macron enjoys close ties,
took a reproving tone on the cartoons, warning that "freedom of expression isn't unlimited" and urging everyone to "be aware of the impact of our words and actions on others."
The Financial Times, a paper usually enthusiastic in its support for Macron, published a bit by a correspondent entitled "Macron's war on 'Islamic separatism' only divides France further".
The paper later took down the column, citing factual errors, but shortly after published a bit by French scholar Olivier Roy with the headline "French battle against Islamist 'separatism' is at odds with commitment to liberty."
Defending France's stance in a letter to the FT where he denied stigmatising Muslims, Macron wrote "France -- we are attacked because of this -- is really as secular for Muslims as for Christians, Jews, Buddhists and all believers."
The idea that newcomers should blend seamlessly into French society dates to colonial occasions when adopting French customs, including Western-style dress, were among the "civilising factors" assessed in determining who should be awarded citizenship.
The thought of assimilation regained popularity through the 2007-2012 presidency of right-wing leader Nicolas Sarkozy when support for France's secularist principles, or "laicite", became a litmus test of integration into French society.
Rooted in the anticlericalism that drove the French Revolution, secularism has been repeatedly invoked to combat the rise of radical Islam predicated on a 1905 law on the separation of church and state.
It drove the 2004 ban onthe wearing of the Muslim headscarf and other religious symbols in state schools and it has additionally been brandished in defence of the Mohammed cartoons and the right to blaspheme.
While the majority of French Muslims support secularism, surveys also show most oppose the publication of Mohammed cartoons, seeing them as a provocation.
"Under cover of a debate on values, what we have is a debate on identity," Christophe Bertossi, director of the Centre for Migration and Citizenship of the French Institute for International Relations, told AFP.
He argued that France should drop the tough rhetoric and take inspiration from Britain to prevent radicalisation, "by working closely with communities on the floor, building relationships and solidarity and fighting against all varieties of spatial, racial and religious discrimination and segregation."
For Heisbourg, the battle against radicalisation will be fought and won in public schools.
"The task for France is how to create a sense of shared citizenship from an extremely early age," he said, calling for a much greater focus on civic instruction in the classroom. -- AFP
