11.3 The Republic and laïcité — Epoché
What you will be able to do Explain what the word République means to the French: not only a form of government, but a set of values and symbols. Name the landmarks of its history: the Revolution of 1789, five republics, two empires, and the law of 1905. Recognise the symbols of the Republic: the motto, the flag, la Marseillaise , Marianne, the national day. Understand how la laïcité organises the place of religions in French public life, and why it is still debated. Sentences from this lesson, before the explanation. Read the French aloud; all of them come back below. French English Vous êtes très vive. [1] You're very sharp. Êtes-vous le roi des Juifs ? [2] Are you the King of the Jews? Vous réfléchissez parfois trop. [3] Sometimes, you think too much. Je parle parfois français. [4] I occasionally speak French. Il était heureux d'être juif. [5] He was happy being a Jew. Prerequisites : 9.6 — this lesson follows 9.6 Writing . It builds on the politics words of 5.15 Vocabulary and on the reading on la laïcité in 7.16 Reading , and it looks back to the readings of Rousseau and Voltaire you met in 10.3 Argument and 10.4 Argument . A republic, not just a state For the British, a monarch is head of state; for Americans, the republic is a form of government. For the French, la République is something more: a set of principles, liberty, equality, fraternity, and secularism, that politicians of every party claim to defend. Politicians speak of les valeurs républicaines , schools teach them, and a candidate accused of being antirépublicain is in serious trouble. The word has this weight because it was won slowly, against kings and emperors, over more than a century. The Revolution of 1789 ended the old society of three orders, la noblesse , le clergé and the rest of the population, the third estate. The First Republic was proclaimed in 1792. It was followed by Napoleon's empire, by kings again, by a Second Republic in 1848, a second empire under Napoleon III, and only in 1870, after defeat by Prussia, by a Third Republic that lasted until 1940. The Fourth Republic followed the Second World War, and the present Fifth Republic dates from 1958, as you saw in 5.15 Vocabulary . When the French count their republics, they are counting a long struggle. The symbols The motto , Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité , is written on the front of town halls and schools. The flag , blue, white and red, dates from the Revolution. The anthem , la Marseillaise , was a war song of 1792, named after the volunteers from Marseille who sang it in Paris. Marianne , a woman in a red cap, represents the Republic. By custom her bust stands in most town halls, and her face appears on stamps. The national day , 14 July, recalls the taking of the Bastille in 1789 and the festival of national unity a year later. It became the national holiday in 1880, with its military parade and its fireworks. The Republic and religions The Revolution took power and property from the Catholic Church, and the conflict between the Republic and the Church dominated the nineteenth century. Napoleon's agreement with the Pope in 1801, the Concordat, made the state pay the Catholic clergy, and later laws did the same for Protestant pastors and rabbis. The law of 1905 ended this: it separated the Churches and the State, guaranteed freedom of conscience, and stopped public funding of religions, with a few exceptions such as chaplains in schools, hospitals and prisons. Alsace and Moselle, which were German in 1905, still keep the older system, in which the state pays the clergy. This is the origin of la laïcité , which you read about in 7.16 Reading . Today, most French people describe themselves as Catholic by tradition or as having no religion; Islam is the second religion of the country; there are Protestant and Jewish communities with long histories, the Jewish community being the largest in Europe. The state does not count believers: French law limits statistics on religion, so all figures come from surveys. The debates of recent decades concern how far neutrality should reach: conspicuous religious signs at school, forbidden for pupils in state schools since 2004; the face veil in public places, forbidden since 2010; the place of religion at work. For some, la laïcité protects everyone's freedom by keeping the state neutral; for others, it is used against one religion in particular. Knowing both readings helps you follow French news, where the word appears almost every week. Terms Eight words of the Republic and of religion, each with a corpus example. Word Meaning Notes la fête nationale fr national day Gender / part of speech feminine noun How English differs In France, 14 July, which the French call le 14 Juillet , never Bastille Day . Le quatorze juillet est la fête nationale française. [6] July Fourteenth is the French national holiday. la noblesse fr nobility; nobleness Gender / part of speech feminine noun How English differs The second order of the old society, after le clergé . On dit parfois que la noblesse a le sang bleu. [7] It is sometimes said that nobility have blue blood. le clergé fr clergy Gender / part of speech masculine noun How English differs All the priests of a religion, taken together. Le clergé tout entier est contre la nouvelle loi. [8] All the clergy are against the new law. l'empereur fr emperor Gender / part of speech masculine noun How English differs In French history, Napoleon I and Napoleon III. L'empereur veut abdiquer. [9] The emperor wants to abdicate. catholique fr Catholic Gender / part of speech adjective and noun How English differs Not capitalised in French. Êtes-vous catholique ? [10] Are you Catholic? juif fr Jewish; Jew Gender / part of speech adjective and noun How English differs Feminine juive ; not capitalised as an adjective. Jésus était juif. [11] Jesus was a Jew. musulman fr Muslim Gender / part of speech adjective and noun How English differs Feminine musulmane ; not capitalised. Il est musulman. [1