The government wants to beef up its game on secularism.
Marlène Schiappa, the Minister for Citizenship questioned Wednesday in the Senate, lifted the veil on some of the government's plans.
An administration and a High Council type body will be created by the Prime Minister in a few weeks.
Will these new bodies devoted to secularism be attached to the Ministry of the Interior or to Matignon?
For the time being, the question does not seem settled.
Few elements have filtered on the missions of the two bodies, even less on the casting.
Place Beauveau, this Thursday, it is indicated that the administration will be in charge of
“secularism referents;
training policies ...
"and that the High Council will be made up
" of experts to defend this beautiful republican principle
. "
Among specialists in the matter, the reception is rather positive.
"
Secularism deserves to have public policy tools and people who implement them
", points out Vincent Ledoux, deputy "Agir" from the North, who defends the creation of a national day devoted to this republican principle.
“Today, it is not normal that in the Ministry of the Interior there is an office devoted to worship and not to secularism.
These announcements reflect the government's desire to develop operational tools on the subject,
”he says with satisfaction.
Henri Pena-Ruiz, philosopher author of the
Dictionary in love with secularism (
Plon
)
hopes that these future bodies will
be
able "
to look into the cases where this principle is flouted to intervene, to recall the standards
".
He also wants them to have an educational ambition: to explain secularism and show that it has only one definition.
“
She's neither soft nor hard, you can't stick adjective to her, she exists, period.
As a legal-political ideal, it ticks all the boxes of the philosophy of freedom, ”
he points out.
The end of "The Observatory of Secularism"
These new projects aim to replace the Observatory of Secularism, the advisory body set up by François Hollande.
The tenure of the ten "qualified personalities" who compose it - including that of Jean-Louis Bianco, the president - expires this Sunday, April 4.
It will be emptied of its substance and will no longer be able to give an opinion.
His detractors reproached him for a vision that was too lax and complacent towards Islam.
“
This reflects a deep ignorance of our work, defends Nicolas Cadène
, who is still officially its general rapporteur.
The Observatory defends the law.
All his opinions have been confirmed by the highest courts ”.
The controversies implicating this body have not failed in recent years.
"
I'm not going to cry over the fate of the Observatory
," reacts Henri Pena-Ruiz.
He was not very rigorous.
He made a bit of mistakes: he didn't know how to be a layman when he should have been
”.
One of the most recent controversies concerned the defense of the wearing of the Islamic veil by mothers who accompany children during school trips.
“
Teachers are subject to neutrality because [they are] agents of the public service.
Not the parents who bring only voluntary logistical help
, ”had decided, on Twitter, the general rapporteur Nicolas Cadène.
“
School guides should respect neutrality,”
explains Henri Pena-Ruiz.
When we supervise children we do not have to manifest our religion or even an atheist conviction
, ”continues the academic.
To read also: Régis Debray: "Secularism is not a profession of militant atheism"
Since the assassination of Samuel Paty, the fate of the Observatory seemed sealed.
It “
must evolve, because we cannot be satisfied with the publication of reports and educational guides”
had judged Matignon a few days later.
On Wednesday, the left in the Senate made a final attempt to save the skin of this body, by seeking to include it in the law "reinforcing respect for the principles of the Republic".
In vain.
The executive does not want to be dictated by its conduct.
“We are not going to apologize for setting up an administration that steers public policies on the issue of secularism.
We have the impression that this is a drama, ”
mocked Marlène Schiappa.