10:30 p.m., March 20, 2021
After the stormy meeting between young people this autumn in Poitiers and the Secretary of State for Youth and Engagement, Sarah El Haïry, a note was made which blames attacks on secularism. In the JDD, the Secretary of State for Youth and Engagement Sarah El Haïry returns to this investigation. “Not one euro of public money should go to the enemies of the Republic. From now on, we will use the Republican contract of engagement backed by articles 6 and 7 of the bill consolidating the principles of the Republic”, explains the minister.
We have taken note of the conclusions of the investigation that you carried out following the “Poitiers incident”, where, responding to an invitation, you were taken to task by young people on religion. What dysfunctions have been pointed out?
Independently, the General Inspectorate conducted its investigation. She auditioned all the actors present in Poitiers. Its report shows that if the organization of the event took place under good conditions, the Federation of social centers [FCSF] has not lived up to its commitments on secularism, although it has its own charter on the issue. She chose to entrust the subcontracting of the animation to the association La Boîte sans projet. However, if this one knows how to make dialogue the young people, it has no expertise on the religious fact. And she claims on social networks a non-neutral, even partisan positioning. This undoubtedly explains the shift from a planned debate on religions to a debate on discrimination.
Read also – Minister heckled in Poitiers, the report which denounces attacks on secularism
Are you going to take measures or sanctions against associations which have not carried out their mission in accordance with republican rules?
There will be four answers. I have asked that we reconsider the attribution of accreditation of La Boîte sans projet. I also sent the Federation of Social Centers a letter to remind them that secularism and the defense of the values of the Republic are intangible pillars of our living together, and that the actions of their providers were their responsibility. And I asked her to let us know how she intended to implement the recommendations of the report on the accentuation of training on secularism. I also decided to bring, within the framework of the debate around the bill reinforcing the republican principles which arrives at the end of March in the Senate, an evolution of the rules of attribution of youth and popular education accreditation, because today , when it is issued, it is never questioned. I made the choice to impose a duration. I would like that every eight years there could be a reassessment in the manner of what the law provides for sports federations. Finally, we will continue to equip the world of popular education. We must accompany it, it is our duty. We will add modules on republican principles, but also on secularism within the framework of Bafa [brevet d’aptitude aux fonctions d’animateur]. I will act as a complement to Jean-Michel Blanquer, the Minister of National Education.
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The world of popular education must continue, through dialogue and exchange, to protect young people from the dangerousness of ideological discourse.
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How do you plan to act against associations which benefit from public subsidies and which lack the republican pact?
Not one euro of public money should go to the enemies of the Republic. From now on, we will use the Republican engagement contract backed by Articles 6 and 7 of the bill confirming the principles of the Republic. This contract will allow clarification, because those who do not sign it can no longer be, in one way or another, partners of the State. It thus protects the associative status of the misappropriation of certain separatists.
How to explain that in Poitiers a teenage girl refused to sing La Marseillaise, whose words would be “hostile to Muslims”?
Beyond this adolescent girl whom I do not want to stigmatize, I want to emphasize the essential role of the adults who supervised her. It is their responsibility to set clear benchmarks to break false perceptions. I recalled that the writing of our national anthem dated from the 18th century and did not target any religion. The attitude of certain municipal councilors also did not make it possible to set an example and create unity. That day, they weren’t Republicans in the truest sense of the word.
Could it be accepted that associations on the outskirts of the Poitiers meeting were linked to indigenous and decolonialists and to a permissive line with regard to Islamism?
All the victim positions betray our republican model and help to numb the energy of youth by making them a double victim. They keep young people in the doldrums and separate them from society by nurturing them with mistrust. In France, each young person has their place, that’s the republican promise. And the world of popular education makes this promise concrete. It must continue, through dialogue and exchange, to protect young people from the dangerousness of ideological discourse.
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