Emmanuel Macron attends the lighting of a candle for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah at the Elysée, elected officials denounce an attack on secularism

Elected officials on the left and right denounced an attack on secularism after the organization of a Jewish celebration at the Elysée. The president’s entourage defends itself, believing that “attending a religious event is not an attack on secularism.”

The celebration is far from unanimous. Political figures on both the right and the left denounce an attack on secularism, after the lighting of candles for the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah at the Elysée, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, Thursday, December 7 in the evening.

“The President of the Republic does not celebrate any religious holiday. I did not do it yesterday any more than I will do it tomorrow”replied the head of state on France 2, Friday. “All this was done in the presence of all the other religions that were invited, and in a spirit which is that of the Republic and concord”Emmanuel Macron had argued a little earlier, during his visit to the Notre-Dame de Paris construction site.

A celebration in the presence of the Chief Rabbi of France

The Elysée hosted the ceremony of the Conference of European Rabbis on Thursday evening, who presented France and Emmanuel Macron with the Lord Jakobovits Prize, which rewards the fight against anti-Semitism

On this occasion, the Head of State attended the lighting of a Hanukkah candle by the Chief Rabbi of France Haïm Korsia, on the first day of this traditional Jewish festival of lights, as evidenced by a video published by Strasbourg rabbi Mendel Samama on X (formerly Twitter). “I lit the candle of remembrance and memory of the Shoah, and then the chief rabbihe lit two candles linked to Hanukkah”, said Emmanuel Macron on France 2 on Friday. He also attended the singing “from a paragraph of a religious song” by the rabbis present, said the delegate minister Bérangère Couillard on France Bleu Gironde.

These images provoked numerous criticisms from Internet users and several political figures, particularly on the left. The coordinator of La France insoumise, Manuel Bompard, denounced on “an unforgivable political mistake”. He thinks that Emmanuel Macron “crowd” the law of 1905 on the separation of Churches and State “by organizing a religious ceremony at the Élysée”. An opinion shared by the national secretary for secularism of the Socialist Party, Jérôme Guedj, on the same social network : “No elected representative of the Republic should participate” at a Hanukkah ceremony, “like any religious manifestation”.

“A mistake” for the president of Crif

In the center and on the right too, certain elected officials criticize this decision. “How can we refuse to participate in a civic march against anti-Semitism on the incongruous and fallacious grounds of safeguarding national unity, and celebrate a religious festival within the presidential palace?”, wonders the mayor of Les Républicains de Cannes, David Lisnard.

“I think it’s a mistake, and that [l’allumage de cette bougie] Shouldn’t have happened.”estimated the president of Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (Crif), Yonathan Arfi, interviewed on Sud Radio Friday, while recalling that “the invitation did not relate to this religious festival”.

Several specialists in secularism issues also expressed their discomfort. “Do we realize the Pandora’s box thus opened by [Emmanuel] Macron in contravention of 145 years of republican history?, gets alarmed the historian Eric Anceau.

“Attending a religious event is not an attack on secularism”

Speaking to franceinfo, the president’s entourage defended him on Friday morning, believing that“attending a religious event does not constitute an attack on secularism”. “I find it completely normal that the President of the Republic places himself alongside our Jewish compatriots.”, also judged the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin on franceinfo, Friday, linking the event to the context of an increase in anti-Semitic acts against a backdrop of war between Israel and Hamas. Asked about the parallel between this ceremony at the Elysée and the ban on crèches in town halls, the Minister of the Interior also judged the latter “a bit absurd”.

Thursday evening, Emmanuel Macron also promised to fix “in the coming weeks” the date of a tribute to the victims of the Hamas attack on October 7 in Israel. This date will be chosen “in consultation with families”added the president, who explains having “expected because several of these families have lost children, loved ones, and still have hostages”.