Two days before the anniversary date of December 9 on the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State, the head of state created controversy, including even in part of the Jewish community, by leaving the chief rabbi of France, Haïm Korsia, to light the first candle of the candelabra in the community hall of the Élysée for Hanouka, the festival of lights.
This celebration took place during the presentation to Emmanuel Macron of the annual Lord Jakobovits prize from the Conference of European Rabbis which rewards the fight against anti-Semitism and the safeguarding of religious freedoms. Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he did not regret “at all” the celebration at the Élysée of the start of the Jewish festival of Hanouka, assuring that it had been carried out “in a spirit which is that of the Republic and harmony”.
“Secularism is not the erasure of religions”
“The country, sometimes, goes up in flames. Yesterday, I received rabbis from all over Europe who presented me with an award recognizing France’s fight against anti-Semitism. At the end of this ceremony, I lit the candle of remembrance which returned from Auschwitz. Then, it was the chief rabbi who lit the Hanukkah candle. All this was done in the presence of all the other religions who were invited, who were there and in a spirit which is that of the Republic and harmony. Secularism is not the erasure of religions. It is the fact that everyone has the right and the freedom to believe and not to believe. If the president of the Republic had taken part in a religious gesture or had participated in a ceremony, this would not be respectful of secularism. The President of the Republic, which I am, is respectful of secularism. I consider that it is a path to freedom”, he declared while visiting the reconstruction site of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Strong criticism from the left
The event had not been announced by the Élysée but videos, widely viewed on social networks, ignited the controversy, mainly on the left. “The Élysée is not a place of worship. We do not compromise with secularism. This common is precious but fragile,” denounced socialist Carole Delga. “The Élysée is neither a church, nor a mosque, nor a temple, nor a synagogue,” added Guillaume Lacroix, president of the radical left party. “An unforgivable political mistake” for the coordinator of La France insoumise Manuel Bompard.
On the left, officials also see the risk of fueling the feeling of “double standards” in relation to the Muslim community. In the context of rising tensions linked to the war between Israel and Hamas, it is “real nitroglycerin”, added Laurence Rossignol (PS).
“Breaking of the republican tradition”
Reactions were less strong on the right and the far right, who especially criticized, like the spokesperson for the RN deputies Laure Lavalette, “an attempt to catch up” by the head of state after his absence. at the march against anti-Semitism on November 12. “How can we refuse to participate in a civic march against anti-Semitism on the incongruous and fallacious grounds of safeguarding national unity and celebrate a religious festival within the presidential palace?” asked David Lisnard (LR ).
Within the Jewish community itself, the president of Crif, Yonathan Arfi, distanced himself from the initiative of the chief rabbi, speaking of it as an “error”. “It is not the place within the Élysée to light a Hanouka candle because the republican DNA is to stay away from anything religious,” admitted Mr. Arfi.
Emmanuel Macron had already created controversy over secularism by attending the Pope’s mass in Marseille. But “this is the first time that the president has organized a religious ceremony at the Élysée, it is a break with republican tradition”, underlined historian Patrick Weil to AFP.
A “signal” of “support” for the “Jewish community” according to Borne
Embarrassed by the controversy, the executive first defended itself through Elisabeth Borne who, from Mayotte, estimated that Emmanuel Macron had wanted to send a “signal” of “support” to the “Jewish community” in the face of the “rise of anti-Semitism”.
The Minister of the Interior and Religious Affairs Gérald Darmanin saw “no attack on secularism”. The minister took the opportunity to make a link with the recurring controversies over crèches in town halls at Christmas time. He considered the court decisions banning them “a little absurd” “because it is part of our cultural life”.