Read moreOn May 20, 2022, Pap Ndiaye had barely been appointed to rue de Varenne when a section of the senatorial right became alarmed by his perception of secularism, suspected of being too accommodating. The elected officials had kept in mind the historian's past positions, which broke with those of his predecessor, Jean-Michel Blanquer. Pap Ndiaye had rejected the concepts of "wokism" or "Islamo-leftism", "a scarecrow rather than a social or ideological reality" for the first, "a way of stigmatizing currents of research" for the second. "These changes within the Council of Elders of Secularism are the confirmation of what we could have feared" Auditioned by the Education and Culture Committee of the Upper House a few weeks after his appointment, the young minister had then tried to reassure the elected members of the upper house by recalling that he was "a secular and republican citizen". "I was not one of those who made a priori judgment against him based on his academic work. But these changes within the Council of Elders of Secularism are the confirmation of what we could have feared," indicates LR senator Max Brisson, author of a bill on the experimentation of the autonomy of educational establishments. "Fight against racism, anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination" On April 14, the Minister of National Education proceeded with a new installation of the Council of Elders of Secularism set up by Jean-Michel Blanquer in 2018, whose mission is originally "to disseminate what secularism is from an intellectual point of view and the practical consequences in the management of establishments of these principles", as its president, sociologist Dominique Schnapper, explained before the Senate. Pap Ndiaye has broadened his scope "to everything that strengthens students' adherence to the values of the Republic: the fight against racism and anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination, gender equality, the promotion of the principle of fraternity at school", we can read in the Official Education Bulletin. The Council, which until now could take action on its own initiative to provide answers to heads of establishments, will now only act on referral from the minister. Pap Ndiaye also appointed new personalities to the Council: Gwénaële Calvès, professor of public law at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, Christine Darnault, academy inspector, deputy chief of staff of the rector of Créteil, Jacques Fredj, director of the Shoah Memorial, Thomas Hochmann, professor of public law at the University of Paris-Nanterre, and finally Alain Policar, sociologist and political scientist, associate researcher at Cevipof. This last name, in particular, has sparked a storm of protest. In an opinion piece published in Le Point, entitled "Let's not assassinate secularism!" Samuel Paty's sister criticizes the appointment of Alain Policar, "known for his hostility to what he calls repressive, or combative, secularism." "It's quite distressing for me, a convinced secularist," Alain Policar told publicsenat.fr. The sociologist explains that he is moving towards universalist thought, while distancing himself "from the translations it has received, particularly as a justification for the colonial enterprise." "Universalism, as indifference to color or religions, is a good principle but in an ideal world," emphasizes the researcher who confirms wanting to "promote the values of pluralism." "He's a woke guy who doesn't understand what's going on in the establishments" On Twitter, the president of the LR group in the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, evokes "the cowardice of Pap Ndiaye who "lowers his guard on secularism by distorting the council of wise men of secularism". LR senator Jacqueline Eustache Brinio, who was rapporteur of the separatism bill, is less measured in her criticism of the line that the minister seems to want to adopt. “I am outraged. I have no confidence in this minister. He's a woke guy who doesn't understand what's going on in the establishments. Secularism is not an adjective. He calls into question the very principle of the Council of Elders of secularism by putting people there who have no place there." "He is only taking over a body created by Jean-Michel Blanquer," says the communist senator, Pierre Ouzoulias, author of a bill aimed at promoting social diversity in schools, particularly in private establishments. The elected official denounces the government's "hypocrisy" regarding secularism in schools. "Since coming to power, Emmanuel Macron has done nothing but put the public and private sectors in competition with each other, and the one that wins is the private sector, and it is not secular. The senatorial right and the government demand secularism in public establishments and accept certain excesses in private establishments. "It's quite hypocritical." Last November, the ministry reported 353 reports of violations of the principle of secularism, compared to 720 in October and 313 in September. "I am surprised that the minister is content to simply list the attacks on secularism without giving clear instructions to the directors of establishments. You can't compromise with the law. Secularism is a constitutional principle. The public school system was built on a secularism that fought against Catholicism at the end of the 19th century. "It must be the same thing with regard to political Islam," says Max Brisson. "Tolerating the wearing of a headscarf does not mean approving of it" Should we see in the expansion of the missions of the Council of Elders of Secularism, a weakening of the application of the 2004 law which prohibits the wearing of ostentatious religious symbols in educational establishments? "I don't think so," replies Alain Policar. "But we must be interested in the situation of people who are tempted by any religious affiliation. The emancipatory dimension of secularism, which consists of imposing light, is not what I defend. I defend the notion of tolerance which does not fall exclusively within the Anglo-Saxon philosophical-political tradition. Tolerating the wearing of a headscarf does not mean approving of it. Similarly, differences based on skin color cannot be denied since racist people take them into consideration. Individual behaviors crystallize in institutions and from there structural racism is born. Racialized people can then become trapped in an identity through a reversal of the stigma.” Max Brisson does not want to rely on the opinion of a single member of the Council of Elders of Secularism to prejudge the minister's new roadmap. "But if Pap Ndiaye gets bogged down in relativism, he will have the Senate majority against him," he warns.
On May 20, 2022, Pap Ndiaye was barely named rue de Varenne that a part of the senatorial right was alarmed by his perception of secularism, suspected of being too accommodating. The elected officials had kept in mind the historian's past positions, which were at odds with those of his predecessor, Jean-Michel Blanquer. Pap Ndiaye had rejected the concepts of "wokism" or "Islamo-leftism", "a scarecrow rather than a social or ideological reality" for the former, "a way of stigmatizing research trends", for the latter.
"These changes within the Council of Elders of Secularism are the confirmation of what we could have feared"
Auditioned by the Education and Culture Committee of the Upper House a few weeks after his appointment, the young minister tried to reassure the elected members of the upper house by recalling that he was “a secular and republican citizen”.
"I was not one of those who made a priori judgment against him in relation to his academic work. But these changes within the Council of Elders of Secularism are the confirmation of what we could have feared," says LR senator Max Brisson, author of a bill on experimenting with the autonomy of educational establishments.
“Fight against racism, anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination”
On April 14, the Minister of National Education proceeded with a new installation of the Council of Elders of Secularism set up by Jean-Michel Blanquer in 2018, whose mission is originally "to disseminate what secularism is from an intellectual point of view and the practical consequences in the management of establishments of these principles", as its president explained, Sociologist Dominique Schnapper before the Senate.
Pap Ndiaye has broadened his scope "to everything that strengthens students' adherence to the values of the Republic: the fight against racism and anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination, gender equality, the promotion of the principle of fraternity at school", we can read in the Official Education Bulletin.
The Council, which until now could act on its own initiative to provide answers to heads of establishments, will now only act on the referral of the minister. Pap Ndiaye has also appointed new personalities to the Council: Gwénaële Calvès, professor of public law at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, Christine Darnault, academy inspector, deputy chief of staff of the rector of Créteil, Jacques Fredj, director of the Shoah Memorial, Thomas Hochmann, professor of public law at the University of Paris-Nanterre, and finally Alain Policar, sociologist and political scientist, associate researcher at Cevipof.
This last name, in particular, has provoked a storm of protest. In a column published in Le Point, entitled "Let's not assassinate secularism!", Samuel Paty's sister castigates the appointment of Alain Policar, "known for his hostility to what he calls repressive or combative secularism."
"It's quite distressing for me, who is a convinced secularist," Alain Policar reacts to publicsenat.fr. The sociologist explains that he is moving towards universalist thought, while distancing himself "from the translations it has received, particularly as a justification for the colonial enterprise." "Universalism, as indifference to color or religions, is a good principle but in an ideal world," emphasizes the researcher who confirms that he wants to "promote the values of pluralism."
"He's a woke guy who doesn't understand what's going on in the establishments."
On Twitter, the president of the LR group in the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, spoke of "the cowardice of Pap Ndiaye who "lowers his guard on secularism by distorting the council of wise men of secularism".
LR Senator Jacqueline Eustache Brinio, who was the rapporteur of the separatism bill, is less measured in her criticism of the line that the minister seems to want to adopt. "I am scandalized. I have no confidence in this minister. He is a woke who does not understand what is happening in the institutions. Secularism is not an adjective. He calls into question the very principle of the Council of Elders of Secularism by putting people there who have no place there."
"He is only taking over a body created by Jean-Michel Blanquer," says the communist senator, Pierre Ouzoulias, author of a bill aimed at promoting social diversity in schools, particularly in private establishments. The elected official denounces the government's "hypocrisy" on secularism in schools. "Since coming to power, Emmanuel Macron has only put the public and private sectors in competition, and the one that wins is the private sector, and it is not secular. The senatorial right and the government are demanding secularism in public establishments and accepting certain excesses in private establishments. It is quite hypocritical."
Last November, the ministry reported 353 reports of violations of the principle of secularism, compared to 720 in October and 313 in September. "I am surprised that the minister is content to simply list attacks on secularism without giving clear instructions to school principals. We cannot compromise with the law. Secularism is a constitutional principle. Public schools were built on a secularism of combat against Catholicism at the end of the 19th century. It must be the same thing in the face of political Islam," insists Max Brisson.
"Tolerating the wearing of a headscarf does not mean approving of it"
Should we see in the expansion of the missions of the Council of Elders of Secularism, a weakening of the application of the 2004 law that prohibits the wearing of ostentatious religious symbols in schools? "I don't think so," replies Alain Policar. "But we must be interested in the situation of people who are tempted by any religious affiliation. The emancipatory dimension of secularism, which consists of imposing light, is not what I defend. I defend the notion of tolerance that does not fall exclusively within the Anglo-Saxon philosophical-political tradition. Tolerating the wearing of a headscarf does not mean approving of it. Similarly, we cannot deny differences based on skin color since racist people take them into consideration. Individual behavior crystallizes in institutions and from there structural racism is born. Racialized people can then become trapped in an identity by a reversal of the stigma."
Max Brisson does not want to rely on the opinion of a single member of the Council of Elders of Secularism to prejudge the minister's new roadmap. "But if Pap Ndiaye "If he gets bogged down in relativism, he will have the senatorial majority against him," he warns.
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