Premier ignites bitter row on laïcité

Prime Minister Manuel Valls has sparked off a bitter row about France’s official secularism that has contrasted his strict application of laïcité with the more flexible approach of a senior official appointed by President François Hollande, writes Tom Heneghan.

In a speech to Jewish groups, Mr Valls strongly criticised Jean-Louis Bianco, head of the semi-official Observatory of Laïcité, for signing the anti-terrorism manifesto “We Are United” issued by an interfaith youth group after the November attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.

Mr Valls accused Mr Bianco of “distorting” the policy and aligning with groups he said were creating a “foul atmosphere” in France. He did not name the groups, but the signatories included France’s chief rabbi, the Protestant federation leader, leading lay Catholics, and several Muslim activists.

Astonished by the surprise attack, Mr Bianco indirectly rebuffed Mr Valls by saying laïcité was distorted by those who tried to turn it into “an anti-religious tool”. Mr Valls then rounded on Mr Bianco’s deputy for criticising a prominent left-wing feminist philosopher, Elisabeth Badinter, who said the French should “not fear being called Islamophobes” for defending a strict interpretation of the policy. Some Muslims complain the state discriminates against them when it insists on strict secularism in public.

Three prominent left-wing activists quit the Observatory board to support Badinter. There are now competing petitions going around, one calling for Mr Bianco to be sacked and the other supporting him.
No Catholic bishops signed the anti-terrorism appeal, but the episcopal conference issued a statement last month criticising what it said was a hardening official line aimed at sidelining faith from the public sphere where it is legally allowed.

President Hollande has been more conciliatory towards religious groups since the November attacks. If Mr Valls’ lesson from the attacks is to further limit expressions of faith in public, pressure will rise for Mr Hollande to define what his Government means by laïcité.