Church urges way forward for an anxious country

The French bishops’ conference has urged disillusioned citizens to “rediscover the meaning of politics” in the months leading up to next spring’s presidential and parliamentary elections and renew the country’s social contract, writes Tom Heneghan. In an unusual 93-page booklet, addressed to all the people of France, it said that society was anxious because of security challenges and economic strains, and was fed up with politicians who were cut off from the people.

“More than ever, we sense that social harmony has become fragile, fractured and under attack,” it wrote. “It seems harder and harder to talk to each other.”

The political class no longer presents a vision of the common good, it said, creating disillusionment among citizens who work hard while some business leaders earn “an indecent salary”. It called unemploy­ment, now at 10 per cent, “the great injustice”.

France’s model of integration is failing, the bishops said, with the identities of ethnic and religious sub-groups being highlighted at the expense of a common national identity. This was especially true for Muslims. France needs to renew its social contract and redefine French identity to accommodate its increasingly multicultural nature, they said.