François-Henri Briard is a lawyer at the Council of State and at the Court of Cassation; he is a reserve frigate captain of the French Navy and author of the book
Vivre libre
(Éditions Ipanéma, May 2021).
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The rifts of the French that appeared during the health crisis have once again placed the concept of freedom on the front of the stage, in a climate of confusion and individualism where misunderstandings dispute it with populist speeches and abuses of language. and sometimes elementary silliness. This situation evokes the judgment of President Abraham Lincoln, who said that "
we all speak out for freedom, but by using the same word we do not mean the same thing
".
So what is real freedom? Is this what is currently claimed in the streets or in certain forums in simplistic terms, in almost total ignorance of our legal heritage and its foundations? What is the deep meaning of modern freedom, as it has been bequeathed to us in Europe and the United States since the end of the 18th century by generations that have preceded us? Freedom is neither license, nor the sovereignty of individual will, nor an absolute, nor an ideal which can be freed from law and responsibility. First of all, freedom can only be conceived from the perspective and the constraints of social life: individual, it is also and first of all in France a freedom of otherness, a social freedom, not that of the right to do What this'one wants but to do everything that does not harm others; Article 4 of the Declaration of 1789 is very clear in this regard. The other comes before me. Selfish and lonely freedom is distorted freedom, "
corrupt
”as Alexis de Tocqueville said, a false freedom which in a narcissistic and destructive impulse compromises the harmony of the social body.
Our contemporaries must understand that life in society requires this awareness of the collective character of freedom, what Isaiah Berlin called global freedom, what the European Court of Human Rights calls today, in a recent decision on vaccine obligation, "
social solidarity
".
Real freedom is, as Montesquieu says in L'Esprit des lois, the right to do what the laws allow, no more, no less.
Francois-Henri Briard
I strictly respect all health regulations and I get vaccinated if I wish, to protect myself but also to protect the other, who like me has the right to live in a world where public health is guaranteed. Then, it is essential that the French understand the fundamental role of the law, of legal constraint in this area. Sartre was wrong when he wrote that the free man should have no legislator but himself. Genuine freedom is in reality that which is guaranteed and where appropriate restricted by law and by it alone, in the public interest. Real freedom is as Montesquieu says in
L'Esprit des lois
, the right to do what the laws allow, no more, no less. The law restricts but it also protects against the violence of others or its excesses.
In this regard, freedom is the primary responsibility of public authorities; it is up to them and to them alone, under the control of constitutional, administrative and judicial judges, the heavy burden of protecting their freedoms, of reconciling them among themselves and of restricting them if necessary, in the general interest. . It is not out of blind pleasure or a desire for power that the legislator, the President of the Republic, whose courage and enlightened determination must be saluted, and the government must take restrictive measures in the current situation, including the famous health pass; they do so to ensure the continuity of economic activities and the protection of health, which in France are both guaranteed by the Constitution. This is the role of public power;not to act would constitute a fault on his part which would then be sanctioned by justice. Finally, the current debates could shed more light, for a better understanding of health policy and its rules, the essential link that exists in our philosophical and legal tradition between freedom and responsibility. Freedom is first of all a responsibility and a duty before being a right.
The heroic men and women who, throughout our history have given their lives for our freedom, and those who are still ready every day for this to make the supreme sacrifice, especially the security forces and healthcare workers, deserve our freedom. be responsible.
Francois-Henri Briard
Our society is dying of the loss of a sense of responsibility and of what used to be called state duties. To assume the consequences of his actions, to act with measure and discernment in the respect of the other, to never lose sight of the good of the city and to place it before his personal interest, that is to be free. The heroic men and women who, throughout our history have given their lives for our freedom, and those who are still ready every day for this to make the supreme sacrifice, especially the security forces and healthcare workers, deserve our freedom. be responsible. So let us remember, by implementing this health pass in the interest of society and in our own interest, the words of the great Victor Hugo: “
Anything that increases freedom increases responsibility. To be free, nothing is more serious; freedom is heavy, and all the chains that it removes from the body, it adds to the conscience
”.
