Benjamin Morel is a lecturer in public law at the University of Paris
2
Panthéon-Assas.
Latest work published
:
“
France in crumbs
”
(Éditions du Cerf, 2023).
To discover
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After 4 hours of discussion with Corsican elected officials, Gérald Darmanin left the February 26 meeting on autonomy status with the relieved smile of those who gave up everything.
By proposing to recognize a Corsican cultural community and a legislative power in the name of cultural particularities, the minister opened a Pandora's box into which other regions, but also the suburbs, will fall tomorrow.
After Emmanuel Macron in September, during his speech in Ajaccio, the Minister of the Interior not only promotes communitarianism, but even proposes to constitutionalize it.
The Minister of the Interior thus proposed to Corsican elected officials to recognize the Isle of Beauty as an island
“community”
, but also and above all
“cultural and linguistic”
.
This proposal must be understood in all its radicality.
The notion of community has never been recognized in our Constitution, except to evoke the “French Community”, a more or less federal structure succeeding for a short time the colonial empire.
The notion then had a very different institutional meaning.
What the minister is proposing here, following the terms already proposed by Emmanuel Macron, is to bring a “community” of subjective belonging into the Constitution, where, until now, only the community of citizens had the right to quote.
The cultural singularity of this community would result in its own rights.
This is precisely the definition of communitarianism that the government says it wants to fight every day.
The latter would then be black and white, registered, enshrined in the Constitution.
Obviously, we could say that this will only affect Corsica.
This is already showing little regard for the fate of some of our fellow citizens.
This is also deluding ourselves.
What is recognized with regard to Corsican cultural identity cannot, for reasons of equality, be denied to the Bretons, the Basques, the Auvergnats.
Furthermore, if particular rights arise from cultural singularity, it is also not legitimate to deny such rights to certain of our fellow citizens coming from other regions of the world.
To do so would be to break equality and create discrimination, which is neither legally tenable nor politically realistic.
If we reform the Constitution to recognize a Corsican cultural community, universalism will no longer be an argument to be opposed to our suburbs tomorrow.
We must, necessarily, whether we like it or not, recognize the cultural communities that compose them.
Grant them their own rights.
If we were to deny these communities equal recognition, then we would not only recognize the existence of communities, but we would rank them;
This is the legal definition of racism.
Ultimately, therefore, Gérald Darmanin and Emmanuel Macron offer us the choice between the establishment of a communitarian State or a racist State.
Principles are dikes.
If we give in on them, then they become nothing more than majority rules to which we make more and more numerous exceptions until we see them disappear.
Benjamin Morel
The Minister of the Interior then suggests letting the community legislate in its areas of competence.
The unity of the legislator is a fundamental principle from the Enlightenment which has guided us since the night of August 4, 1789. It has only known two exceptions: Vichy and colonization.
The symbol is, here too, disastrous and the consequences terrible.
In the name of cultural particularities, we could therefore exempt ourselves from the rules and even lay down the law.
All day long, the Minister of the Interior announces that we are not negotiating, that we are not compromising with the laws of the Republic.
When the latter are mistreated in the name of a culture or religion, the country is divided between those who prefer to turn a blind eye and those who denounce an attack on what makes up our common base.
Here we announce that this base does not exist.
That in a McDonald's France, there are no more rules and that it is up to everyone to compose their Burger.
What will we say to those who challenge the laws of the Republic tomorrow?
What will we say to those who denounce double standards?
We will tell them that Corsican culture is different, more noble.
Here again, we prioritize and let's be clear... for both legal and political reasons, this resistance cannot last long.
Ultimately, within a few years, a few decades, there will be no common law.
We would like to exaggerate, to appear excessive... However, this is not the case.
It is no coincidence that, for two centuries, no one has even thought of questioning the principles and legal taboos on which the government is based.
Principles are dikes.
If we give in on them, then they become nothing more than majority rules to which we make more and more numerous exceptions until we see them disappear.
By constitutionalizing communitarianism for Corsica, Gérald Darmanin ultimately proposes to impose it on the country.
Were he and Emmanuel Macron aware of this when they proposed such a “deal” to the Corsican nationalists… We would like to believe that this is at least a thought-out political option.
It is probably much more about petty political calculations coupled with profound incompetence.
Whatever happens, the result will be the same tomorrow.
One thing is certain: if those who believe in republican universalism and who believe that France is not only a patchwork of communities do not mobilize on Corsica, then the dike having given way, it will be impossible to stop the torrent.
Against communitarianism the fight will necessarily end here and all that will remain is to try to plug a few breaches to delay an irremediable sinking.