OK, first off: zero question that @jameskmcauley (PhD in French history) and @onishinyt (who, for the record, works side-by-side with French reporters) and other reporters understand the concept of laïcité, so let's get that smokescreen out of the way. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/15/business/media/macron-france-terrorism-american-islam.html

What they and other American reporters in France are doing is pointing out the gap between the laïque ideal and its frequently politicized practice. They see a hypocrisy, or a blind spot, so they poke at it, which is what reporters do.

French politicians and commentators don't want to take lessons about tolerance from a country with an ostentatiously Christian, openly white supremacist government. They seem to believe that US reporters are representatives of the American empire and, to some degree, the state.

French president: “In our society, I don’t care whether someone is Black, yellow or white, whether they are Catholic or Muslim, a person is first and foremost a citizen.”

American reporter: How can that be true when a Black or Arab person in France is 20 times more likely to be stopped by the police?

France: YOU STARTED THE IRAQ WAR AND ELECTED A RACIST THUG WHO ACTUALLY BANNED MUSLIMS AND BLACK PEOPLE IN YOUR COUNTRY CAN STILL HARDLY VOTE

American reporter: Which is why I'm concerned about these kinds of things?

*DON'T UNDERSTAND* (god, Twitter, give us an edit button)