François Fillon
France is a curious country. The French themselves often
talk about “l’exception française”, and a foreigner is from time to time
brought up short by actions or reactions that seem entirely peculiar. A recent
example followed the guest appearance on the TV evening news of François
Fillon, the presidential candidate who was the big winner of the conservative
primary. Fillon wants to reform the French economy in ways that recent
governments (in one of which, Sarkozy’s, he was Prime Minister) have not been
able to do because of massive resistance, mainly by the trade unions. He is an
impeccably-dressed gentleman who enjoys racing vintage cars, and he would like
to be the French counterpart of Gerhard Schroeder, the social democrat who reformed
the German economy in 2002-5. Fillon is bright, writes well, and has a
sense of humour. And when asked about his intended, and controversial, reform
of the social-security and medicare systems, he pointed out that while the cost of
these systems, and the national debt-level, made reform absolutely necessary, that he would see that it did not hurt the vulnerable. “I’m a Gaullist, and
what’s more, a Christian,” he said, “so obviously I will not initiate any
policies that are harmful to human dignity.”
I was
watching the interview, and found this remark understandable and
unexceptionable. Imagine my surprise when, in the five days following, I saw it
provoke a storm of media scandal. Many Frenchmen seemed outraged that a
candidate for the Presidency should say out loud that he is a Christian.
Shameful! Scandalous! To a foreigner, the reaction was incomprehensible. Until
I heard it discussed by a radio columnist this morning, a woman who on Saturday mornings spends 5
minutes explaining religions to the atheists and agnostics who make up most of
that station’s audience. She pointed out once again “l’exception française”.
Angela Merkel, she said, had maintained that her policy of welcoming refugees
was solidly connected with her Christian faith (she is the daughter of a
Lutheran pastor); and in Germany, she said, that didn’t raise an eyebrow. But
in France, she insisted, it simply could not have been uttered. Why? Because
of the tradition, dating from the Revolution and reinforced in the late 19th
century, of laïcité or secularism.
This insists that religion is strictly a private affair and must never be allowed into any
public political discourse; and as the columnist said, you have to remember
that this tradition of secularism in France was created, maintained and
extended in a battle against the Catholic Church.
Well, I
understood the storm a little better, but I found it a saddening experience.
Fillon was perfectly sincere, perfectly well-meaning, and for him respect for
human dignity is the natural and proper outcome of a Christian faith. To be
reviled for this day in, day out, by otherwise intelligent and not dishonest
politicians is a spectacle that does France no credit.
