Editorial: Le Monde

• The murder of the journalists and cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo marked a tragic turning point in the history of public liberties in France, revealing that religious fanaticism can lead to killings in the 21st century.
• The fracture of opinion on the issue of secularism has deepened, particularly on the left, where secularism is considered a foundational principle.
• It highlights the recent weakening of Jean-Luc Mélenchon's vigorous defense of secularism, favoring appeasing younger and Muslim voters with speeches denouncing 'Islamophobia'.
• This turn away from secularism poses a serious problem for the left, both due its extreme cynicism and potential abandonment of universalist values foundational to our coexistence.
• There is a necessity to recall and defend the foundations of the secular principle, which assures the freedom to believe or not to believe.

Conclusion: The priority should be to present secularism as a guarantee of essential individual freedom to choose our own identities without pressure, rather than portraying it as a source of discrimination.

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