Emmanuel Macron found himself in a spot of bother earlier in December when he invited France’s chief rabbi to the Elysee Palace to light the candles that marked the start of the Jewish festival of lights. Cue outrage in some quarters, mainly of the political sort, from men and women who accused the president of the Republic of betraying France’s laïcité.
A hallowed word for many in France, laïcité translates as secularism, a cherished Republican ideal, often misunderstood or wilfully misinterpreted by France’s enemies, be they Islamic extremists or ignorant Anglo-Saxons.
