French city suspends secularism for Catholic mass, derided as hypocritical

The French heroine, Joan of Arc, was made famous by liberating the French city of Orleans from the clutches of the English in 1429, and marking a turning point in a war that had gone on for decades.

Now the Catholic saint could become embroiled in a different war that is raging in France and it's one that involves secularism.

Controversy has broken out after the elected French officials in Orleans decided to suspend secular tenets that bar officials from participating in overt religious ceremonies in their official capacity so that the mayor can attend a Catholic mass and participate in the communion.

The council of Orleans adopted a charter in which “elected officials must adhere to strict respect for republican neutrality during religious ceremonies."

But the charter made one exception to the rule during celebrations marking the Saint Joan of Arc.

In the name of tradition, one of the chief drivers of the charter on secularism said “the Johannine celebrations are at the same time civil, religious and military. The Catholic practice of elected officials during the solemn mass of May 8, this has existed for tens, even hundreds of years! Let us let this tradition live, and do not pollute this essential question of secularism with this useless controversy."

That exception has raised more than a few eyebrows in particular as the French President Emmanuel Macron and his predecessors have been on a crusade to ensure that French Muslims accept "laicite," an austere interpretation of secularism practised in France. 

Muslims girls have been banned from wearing the hijab in schools, the face veil has been banned in public and halal meat has been condemned by France’s interior minister in a barrage of measures to get Muslims to accept French notions of secularism. 

One French legal scholar said of the move by the Orleans council members, “I can't stand the double standards & the hypocrisy. At a time when Muslims are being accused of violating laïcité on a daily basis.”

One left-wing council member called the exception dangerous saying that “from the moment we put an exception, it no longer makes sense!”

The law of 1905 which established France’s rules around secularism states that “a representative of the Republic cannot attend, and a fortiori participate, in a religious ceremony, dressed in the attributes of his function.”

Initially, the aim of the law was to ensure that the powerful Catholic Church was kept at bay, however, in recent decades the law has been used against the country’s growing Muslim minority, who now number almost 5 million, the largest in Northern Europe.

The country has also faced increasing criticism for weaponising its laws around secularism. Recently a private Muslim school, the only one in Paris which also allowed its female students to wear the headscarf was closed amidst claims of anti-Muslim prejudice by the school’s founders.

The discussion regarding the celebration around the Joan of Arc celebrations is also indicative that certain secularist tenets in France are in need of reform with one activist suggesting that "laicite" in France “should never be seen as an absolute.”

Discussions around secularism in France are fraught with high emotions on both sides of the debate. One social media user responded to the news by saying that “secularism is for everyone ... not just Muslims.”

While others have suggested that the tradition should be upheld as part of French identity. What the discussion lays bare is that maybe France’s war on signs of faith among its public officials may have gone too far.