Freedom, Equality, Fraternity
Author: Lucile Barros, Lawyer in asylum and migration law, Director of a social establishment.
November 5, 2020
All citizens of the world are threatened by increasing collective, institutional and individual violence, as well as the rise of extremism, populism and totalitarianism, which undermine democratic values everywhere in the world. The atrocious and unspeakable assassination, on 16 October 2020, of history and geography teacher Samuel Paty is one of the latest examples of this threat in France. Sadly, it confirms that no country or political regime in the world, including western democracies, is immune to such violence.[i]
In this context, it is essential to recall some of the fundamental principles that constitute the basis of the French Republic, to which I refer as the last bulwark against barbarism, a desperate appeal to reason, fraternity, and individual and collective intelligence.
France is a Nation
For Ernest Renan, “the essence of a Nation is that all individuals have a lot in common, and also that all have forgotten a lot.”[ii] Although this definition of the nation dates back to 1882, it remains highly topical. Renan adds, “Man [l’Homme[ is not a slave to his race, his language or his religion […] A large aggregation of men, sane and worm of heart, creates a moral consciousness which is called a Nation. While this moral consciousness proves its strength through the sacrifices required by the abdication of the individual for the benefit of a community, it is legitimate, it has to exist.”
Renan’s words have a particular strength today. This will to live together was expressed at its best during the gigantic “Je suis Charlie” rallies throughout France in 2015, as well as the Muslim-origin citizens’ acts of solidarity following the assassination of Paty.
The preservation of the idea of Nation in France in the 21st century
- Freedom of conscience must apply to all religions
Several fundamental texts, such as the “law on secularism”, firmly established this principle: “the Republic ensures freedom of conscience. It guarantees the free exercise of worship under the sole restrictions enacted in the interest of public order.”[iii] Likewise, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen states that “no one should be worried about his opinions, even religious ones, provided that their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law.”[iv]
In other words, the Muslim religion should be accepted as equal to other monotheistic religions which are recognized in France, and therefore, framed and protected by the French law. Muslims should be able to practice and represent Islam, thanks in particular to a sufficient number of mosques, imams that are trained in compliance with the French law, and private schools under the French law contract. Islamist fundamentalism must be fought without limits, just like Catholic, Protestant, Jew or Evangelist fundamentalisms, which are also prone to politicization.
Combining freedom of conscience with Republican religions, which respect the secular Republic, and the fight against all religious fundamentalisms is the very expression of French secularism. In this respect, Kamel Daoud has a remarkable point: if France succeeded “in redefining secularism for its Muslim community, […] leaving to form, in slowness, disorder, trial and error, but also perseverance, a French “Islam”, in accordance with a superior secularism which preserves it from political manipulation, embodying, sooner or later, a possibility of living one’s beliefs without opposing those of others, the law and the Republic, [it would be] the living nightmare of those who, today, from the Muslim Brothers to Daesh, are trying to demonstrate that this path is heresy.” That would also be the living nightmare of the French, European and Western far-right.
Daoud’s conclusion is as follows: “A modern, republican Islam which not only accepts but is also concerned with human rights is the absolute opposite of the dream of the caliphate. If this dream comes true in France, it will become that of millions of believers around the world”.[v]
- Freedom of expression and press freedom should not be subject to exceptions other than those set out by the law
“The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious human rights: any citizen can therefore speak, write, print freely, except to answer for the abuse of this freedom in the cases determined by the law.”[vi] The Law on the Freedom of the Press of 29 July 1881 also confirms this definition while regulating insult and defamation.[vii]
We should remember that the offense of blasphemy was eliminated from French law. A satirical weekly magazine, Charlie Hebdo, felt “horror and revolt” for exercising its freedom of expression.
- Children have the right to public and secular education
“The Nation guarantees the children’s equal access to education and culture. The organization of free and secular public education at all levels is a duty of the State.”[viii] Given that an extract from Jean Jaurès’ “Letter to Teachers”[ix] was read in all French schools on 3 November 2020, accompanied by a minute of silence in homage to the murdered teacher, the following words of Jean Jaurès should also make a lot of sense for us: “the right of the children is not to be held […] apart from this or that belief. It is to be put in a state, by a rational and free education, to judge little by little all beliefs.”[x]
Religions should not interfere with the content of secular and republican teachings. That said, it is important to contribute to pupils’ knowledge and capacity for reflection on all religions, as well as on living together in a secular and democratic republic. In particular, this results in the need to train teachers on these topics, and let them teach students accordingly.
- Children of asylum seekers and refugees have the right to the same education
The parents of Samuel Paty’s murderer, 18-year-old Abdullakh Anzorov, arrived in France ten years ago with refugee status. The integration of refugees in France has been a theme that has been addressed repeatedly in public debates for years. Until now, the human, material and financial resources for this integration have not really been allocated. This process includes numerous and costly measures: teaching French, training and the recognition of diplomas, housing, non-discriminatory access to employment, health, culture, and so on.
The right of asylum is a fundamental right protected by the Geneva Convention of 1951 and cannot be called into question by the insidious speeches which in France, as in other European countries, refer to asylum seekers and refugees as delinquents, criminals or terrorists. The integration of refugees will be successful only with a genuine integration policy that respects their fundamental rights. Only after that there will be no need to specify in the media or elsewhere, the origin, religion or status of a terrorist.
The integration of the children of asylum seekers and refugees is an even more pressing and important issue. While schooling is compulsory for everyone up to the age of 16, professionals in the asylum sector are regularly confronted throughout France with the specific difficulties posed by the education of these children and teenagers.
How many inappropriate orientation programs are offered to children at the end of primary school, just because they do not have sufficient mastery of the French language? Before that, how can a Chechen, Nigerian, Afghan, or a Syrian child, who arrives in France and goes to school for a few months, master French as well as getting along with his little French classmates? How many of these teenagers who have reached the fateful age of 16, for whom schooling is no longer compulsory, are excluded from the school system? How many of them are oriented to technical colleges irrespective of their own wishes?
Let me conclude my entry by quoting Thierry Le Roy: “It is good […] to come back to the real debate, which should be that of the asylum policy, more precisely of our integration and integration policy for refugees. We cannot regard this policy as powerless on what becomes of a refugee child, welcomed in France for more than ten years, when he comes of age‘’.[xi]
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[i] Among others, the attacks in New Zealand, Spain, Germany, the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Tunisia and Afghanistan may be exemplified.
[ii] Ernest Renan, « What is a Nation ? », Conference given at the Sorbonne on 11 March 1882.
[iii] Law of 9 December 1905 concerning the separation of Churches and State, Article 1.
[iv] Declaration of the Rights of Men and of the Citizen of 1789, Article 10.
[v] Kamel Daoud, Chronicle, « Decapitation and Disinformation », 2 November 2020, www.facebook.com/Algerie.de.Kamel.DAOUD
[vi] Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Article 11. [vii] Article 1 : « the printing press and the bookshop are free ».
[viii] Preamble to the Constitution of October 27, 1946, §13. It is part of the French constitutionality block.
[ix] La Dépêche, 15 January 1888, www.jaures.eu
[x] « My reasons », 12 October 1901, about the rights of the child, www.jaures.eu
[xi] Thierry Le Roy, President of France Terre d’Asile, Editor, Newsletter October 2020, France Terre d’Asile.