French protestants demand repeal of "separatism" law

"Mr President of the Republic, the Republic is secular, French society is not," begins the president of the French Protestant Federation FPF in an opinion article published in the Christian weekly La Vie on 27 April and about which Evangéliques.Info reports. For François Clavairoly, the French government cannot consider that French culture is secular in the name of secularism. "Our society has roots, known or implicit founding myths: these hidden sources of society that are Judaism, Christianity and Islam still nourish the culture today."

Clavairoly advocates the repeal of the law reinforcing the respect of the principles of the Republic (or 'separatism law'), promulgated on 24 August 2021, which provisions, according to him, "suspect and constrain the religious associations".

The law reinforcing the respect for the principles of the Republic caused quite a stir last year. The law was primarily intended to tackle excesses within Islam. The new rules make it more difficult to exert influence from abroad, prevent home education and explicitly combat issues such as polygamy and declarations of virginity. However, in practice, the law affects all religions and has given the government greater control over all religious groups.

Pray for France

The open letter on behalf of the FPF responds to the re-election of President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, 24 April. The incumbent head of the Republic will have a second term in office after 59 per cent voted for him in the second round of the election, thus beating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

The FPF, which includes historic Protestant churches, is not the only Protestant organisation that reacted to the election results. The National Council of Evangelical Christians in France CNEF, representing 70 per cent of Protestant churches in France and over 30 evangelical denominations, also came out with a response. "In the face of a divided society, what we ask of President Emmanuel Macron's government is to show wisdom, a spirit of unity, acting in favour of peace and preserving everyone's freedom of worship, conscience and expression" Evangelical Focus quotes the CNEF.

The organisation emphasises "that the Bible proposes a set of values conducive to the building of an authentically human society, in particular: the unalterable and absolute value of all human life, from its conception to its end, implying a demand for solidarity towards the most fragile". Evangelical Christians, the CNEF added, are committed to "pray for our country in this mandate and beyond".

Surveys suggest that Protestants, including evangelical Christians, supported Emmanuel Macron more than the rest of the voters, Evangelical Focus writes.