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Emmanuel Macron has written to the Financial Times in a now-deleted OpEd the paper published regarding his response to terrorism and the status of the Muslim community in France.
He writes: "We can do without media articles that divide us." https://www.ft.com/content/8e459097-4b9a-4e04-a344-4262488e7754
He writes: "We can do without media articles that divide us." https://www.ft.com/content/8e459097-4b9a-4e04-a344-4262488e7754
Why is this very busy man writing at letter to a British paper? To my eye, this is part of a wider push-back against Anglophone coverage of his response to terror attacks. Le Monde has reported that he was "annoyed" with the Washington Post's reporting. https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/11/02/separatisme-caricatures-emmanuel-macron-sur-la-defensive-a-l-international_6058144_3210.html
There has been a lot published in Anglophone media about France and laïcité (secularism) in recent weeks following his speech on Islamist (not Islamic) "separatism" and the murder of Samuel Paty. A lot of it has contained serious errors, hence the FT piece being pulled down.
From my point of view, the WaPo and NYT reporting has been excellent, but when we get into the territory of OpEds, things get a bit dicier.
However Macron and his government are playing one game at home and one game abroad. While Macron is giving very measured interviews to Al Jazeera, his ministers are saying very different things on domestic TV channels. https://www.aljazeera.com/program/talk-to-al-jazeera/2020/11/2/emmanuel-macron-free-speech-is-much-broader-than-mere-cartoons/
Here we have Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin saying he is "shocked" by "communitarian food" in supermarkets on BFMTV. https://www.bfmtv.com/police-justice/ca-me-choque-darmanin-se-dit-hostile-aux-rayons-de-cuisine-communautaire-dans-les-supermarches_AV-202010200371.html
Here we have education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer claiming "islamo-gauchisme" (islamo-leftism) is "wreaking havoc in universities" on Europe 1. https://www.europe1.fr/politique/ce-quon-appelle-lislamo-gauchisme-fait-des-ravages-denonce-jean-michel-blanquer-4000366
Here is prime minister Jean Castex saying France should not "self-flagellate" or "regret colonisation" on TF1.
Visiting Algeria in 2017 while he was campaigning for president, Macron said colonialism was a "crime against humanity". https://www.francetvinfo.fr/politique/jean-castex/video-nous-devrions-nous-autoflageller-regretter-la-colonisation-les-propos-de-jean-castex-sur-les-compromissions-avec-l-islamisme-radical-suscitent-de-vives-reactions_4165457.html
Visiting Algeria in 2017 while he was campaigning for president, Macron said colonialism was a "crime against humanity". https://www.francetvinfo.fr/politique/jean-castex/video-nous-devrions-nous-autoflageller-regretter-la-colonisation-les-propos-de-jean-castex-sur-les-compromissions-avec-l-islamisme-radical-suscitent-de-vives-reactions_4165457.html
It is very easy just to throw up your hands and say "the Anglosphere doesn't understand secularism!" And that is undoubtedly true. But secularism is being instrumentalised domestically as well, and has been for years.
In my view (and it is just my view), the French government is playing one game internationally, where Macron claims he is only acting within reason, and another game at home, where it is trying to occupy the ground previously held by the far-right ahead of the 2022 elections.
