The path followed by French-style laïcité has its roots in a deeply entrenched historical context, in which the sovereignty of the State was in constant confrontation with that of the Church, ultimately leading to a clear demarcation between the two entities and enabling a definitive separation between the spiritual and temporal spheres.

It may be said that separation has become the key term characterizing the secular attitude of the République Française ever since the promulgation of the Law of 9 December 1905 on the separation of Churches and State. Article 1 of this Law, in particular, is considered by the legal doctrine as the foundation of religious freedom in France. This established a legal framework which, although subject to numerous amendments (19 legislative interventions to date, the most recent in 2021), continues to represent the cornerstone of the strict neutrality upheld by the French State. This framework guarantees all individuals and groups freedom of conscience and religion. So central is this principle that, during the 2012 electoral campaign, candidate François Hollande proposed the constitutional entrenchment of the first two articles of the 1905 law, which embody fundamental principles of the French Republic.

These same principles have been reaffirmed at the constitutional level, both in the 1946 and 1958 versions of the French Constitution. Article 1, in its current form, declares that «France is an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic», that «it ensures equality before the law for all citizens regardless of origin, race or religion» and that «it respects all beliefs».

Nevertheless, the concept of laïcité is, in the etymological sense, essentially political in nature. While it emerged from a shared historical context, it can assume significantly different meanings depending on political and institutional contingencies, even in France, where the tradition of separatism and State neutrality is deeply rooted and widely embraced. Over the past two decades, successive presidencies have offered concrete examples of the inherently political dimension of French secularism.

In 2007, then-President Nicolas Sarkozy delivered his renowned speech at the Lateran, in which he reiterated France’s Christian roots and advocated for the importance of «holding together the two ends of the rope», emphasizing the value of the religious dimension in French public discourse. He argued that religions could, rather than opposing it, contribute to the strengthening of secularism within the Republic. Sarkozy explicitly theorized a form of positive secularism, open and inclusive. In practice, however, as evidenced by the legal controversies surrounding the veil, this approach harbored a degree of mistrust towards the potentially divisive effects of religious expression (especially in the post-9/11 context). This was evident in the enactment of the 2010 law prohibiting the concealment of the face in public spaces (loi interdisant la dissimulation du visage), which culminated in the 2014 S.A.S. v. France ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.

President Emmanuel Macron, by contrast, ostensibly focused on establishing a structured approach to direct dialogue with religious groups, bypassing intermediaries, to articulate a horizontal ecclesiastical policy - aligned, in this sense, with Article 17 of the TFEU. As early as 2017, Macron initiated a series of consultations through which he developed his own distinctive vision of secularism and separatism, with clear programmatic intent. While never questioning the utility of French-style separatism, he has consistently emphasized the need to reinterpret laïcité in light of pluralism and the concrete needs of French citizens.

Macron’s approach thus focuses not so much on religion per se, but rather on the overarching spirit of the republican legal order, which, while it cannot disregard the beliefs of its citizens, must nonetheless manage and accommodate them to facilitate the effective functioning of both individuals and groups within the legal system. As Macron himself stated: “Je suis, comme chef de l’État, garant de la liberté de croire et de ne pas croire, mais je ne suis ni l’inventeur ni le promoteur d’une religion d’État substituant à la transcendance divine un credo républicain.”

The secularism endorsed by Macron is one of confrontation rather than of abstention, a model that coexists with, but does not overshadow, the founding values of liberté, égalité, fraternité. Within this framework, vivre ensemble (also the guiding principle of the well-known Law of 24 August 2021, reinforcing respect for the principles of the Republic) becomes the central imperative of Macron’s secularist policy. In this vision, religions – whose social role is recognized – may not perform rites or assert claims that stand outside the bounds of republican public order. Some commentators have therefore perceived in this new secularism a shift toward a form of immaterial public order, amounting to a kind of civil religion grounded in vivre ensemble, the exigences minimales de la vie en société, and the valeurs de la République.

At the same time, Macron’s presidency has not missed the opportunity to attach specific meanings to the Republic’s secular posture. A salient example is the constitutionalization of abortion on 4 March 2024: a powerful political and symbolic act which, irrespective of strictly constitutional considerations, appears to carry significant implications for the interpretation of the secularism advocated by Macron’s administration.

This intervention seems somewhat at odds with the spirit of dialogue with religious institutions that Macron had promoted in 2017. The way this unprecedented outcome was achieved globally appears anything but collaborative, and speaks volumes about the evolving nature of the principle of secularism as it has been reshaped over the past twenty years.

Beyond concrete considerations concerning the effectiveness of ecclesiastical policies pursued by recent presidents (different though they may be, yet sharing many pragmatic points of convergence) it remains to be asked whether the current laïcité of the République is merely the product of historical evolution, or whether, rather, it has been shaped and, at times, forcefully directed by each president’s political vision, to the extent that it may be more appropriate to speak of a “Presidential Secularism”.

 

(Focus by Martina Palazzo)

 

Selected bibliography:

 

M. d’Arienzo, La laicità francese secondo Nicolas Sarkozy, in Stato, Chiese e pluralismo confessionale, 2008, 1 ss.

 

R. Astorri, I discorsi del presidente Macron alle comunità religiose: verso una svolta della laicità francese?, in Quaderni di diritto e politica ecclesiastica, 2018, 567 ss.

 

B. Basdevant-Gaudemet, Le regime de separation et laicite en France; quelques evolutions recentes, in Quaderni di diritto e politica ecclesiastica, 2014, 191 ss.

 

J. Baubérot, Libertà religiosa e laicità in Francia, in Lessico di Etica pubblica, 2011, 59 ss.

 

P. Cavana, Interpretazioni della laicità. Esperienza francese ed esperienza italiana a confronto, Roma, 1998

 

N. Colaianni, La resilienza della laicità a fronte del terrorismo cosiddetto islamista, in Stato, Chiese e pluralismo confessionale, 2020, 1 ss.

 

P. Consorti, Dalla Francia una nuova idea di laicità per il nuovo anno, in Stato, Chiese e pluralismo confessionale, 2018, 1 ss.

 

M. Fasan, Riformare la Costituzione per tutelare i diritti fondamentali? Un dialogo tra Francia e Irlanda, in Osservatorio costituzionale, 2024, 1 ss.

 

A. Ferrari, Laicità come neutralità e laicità come relazione. Uno sguardo comparativo alle laicità di Francia, Belgio, Italia e Spagna, in Quaderni di diritto e politica ecclesiastica, 2024, 45 ss.

 

Y. Gaudemet, La laïcité, forme française de la liberté religieuse, in Administration et éducation, 2015, 111 ss.

 

J-C. Monod, Sécularisation et laïcité, Parigi, 2007

 

P. Portier, Citoyenneté et laïcité en France. Parcours d’un siècle, in Quaderni di diritto e politica ecclesiastica, 2016, 73 ss.

 

E. Poulat, Notre laïcité ou les religions dans l’espace public, Parigi, 2014

 

P-H. Prélot, La liberté religieuse en France. Un état des lieux, in Quaderni di diritto e politica ecclesiastica, 2018, 43 ss.

 

A. Tira, La legge francese n. 1109 del 24 agosto 2021 sul “rafforzamento del rispetto dei principi della Repubblica” , in Stato, Chiese e pluralismo confessionale, 2021, 91 ss.

 

Selected sitography:

 

Loi du 9 décembre 1905, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000508749

 

Constitution du 4 octobre 1958, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000571356/ 

 

La République en actes: discours du Président de la République sur le thème de la lutte contre les séparatismes, ultimo accesso 6.7.2025, disponibile al sito https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2020/10/02/la-republique-en-actes-discours-du-president-de-la-republique-sur-le-theme-de-la-lutte-contre-les-separatismes

 

Discours de Nicolas Sarkozy au Palais du Latran le 20 décembre 2007, ultimo accesso 6.7.2025, disponibile al sito https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2007/12/21/discours-du-president-de-la-republique-dans-la-salle-de-la-signature-du-palais-du-latran_992170_823448.html