Berkley Center

In his seminal work Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville describes with great admiration the symbiotic relationship between government and religion in the colonies. It is possible that de Tocqueville was particularly struck by the American political and religious climate, as this element of synergy was noticeably absent in his native France. De Tocqueville’s comparison was particularly prescient, as he lavished his praise on the nascent United States over half a century before the 1905 law that would officially establish laïcité (secularism) in the French Republic. This uniquely French invention insures the clear division between the private lives of governmental figures and their public functions. Now, over a century later, the issue of separation of church and state in France is as hotly contested as ever.

With the recently elected French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, the nation has certainly turned over a new leaf. Just several months into his first term, “Sarko”—as both his supporters and his detractors have dubbed him—has made his intentions clear: to reconcile faith and the laïque (secular) French republic. According to Sarkozy, religion is instrumental in the transmission of values and in understanding the distinction between right and wrong. In this regard, he has famously compared the important cultural and ethical role fulfilled by school teachers to that of Catholic priests.

Moreover, it is Sarkozy’s view that French school children should recognize the role that spirituality plays in public life, and that all French citizens should acknowledge the country’s Christian roots and no longer treat religion as some sort of social taboo. More concretely, on a policy level, Monsieur le president undertook as one of his first initiatives in office the implementation of a new middle school curriculum that would have included the teaching of the personal stories of French children lost in the Holocaust. However, the announcement caused such a fracas in the press, and even within Sarkozy’s own administration, that the issue quickly became a dead letter.

To these opponents, Sarkozy would respond that in recent years laïcité has veered too far in the direction of perfunctory political correctness and has created a climate inhospitable to the very mention of religious beliefs. Through initiatives such as his failed Holocaust remembrance program, Sarkozy is attempting to transform what he deems a negative laïcité into a more positive conception. Under this so-called positive laïcité, the government would work to facilitate a hospitable environment by, for example, providing subsidies for faith-based organizations.

Of course, a discussion of France’s president would not be complete without mention of his sensational private life, splashed across tabloids and reputable news carriers around the globe. Over the course of just three months, the new president divorced his second wife and married his third after a whirlwind romance. Through it all, however, Sarkozy remained true to form and as frank as ever. In matters related to his new runway wife, as well as in public affairs, Sarkozy can always be depended upon to speak his mind. And as his post-nuptials reticence attests, certain things in France do not change, as a certain degree of respect for the private lives of public officials remains deeply entrenched.