Former Education Minister: Secularism in France Being Used to Target Islam

On Tuesday, the government launched the General States of Secularism which will lead to a "large consultation with 50,000 young people" over three months. On France Inter, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem reacted on the subject. According to her, secularism is "perverted by permanent instrumentalizations". This, she says, explains why "many young people" end up "considering it as an enemy" of what they are. She also stated that the notion of secularism is "instrumentalized by the far right, by the right, and now by this government". This leads her to say that secularism is "regularly invoked only to exclude a religion, and in this case, Islam".

"Secularism is a pillar of our Republic, the cement of our concord, of our civil peace and I think we must avoid making it a battlefield," explained the Socialist candidate for the regional elections in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. After denouncing the "permanent attempts to make it a battlefield", she proposes to "educate" the youngest about what secularism is. To support her argument, she refers to one of her previous statements on the subject. The socialist says she has explained to young people that secularism means: "Equal respect for individuals regardless of their religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs and the fact that public services must treat these individuals in the same way without discrimination." "When I explained this to young people, their view of secularism changed, they realized that it is a value, that it is precious and that it deserves to be respected, loved and cherished," she added.