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Why is Macron under fire for Hanukkah candle ceremony in French presidential palace?

French president Emmanuel Macron is under fire for an activity that most people outside France would consider perfectly innocuous - watching a Rabbi light a candle on Hanukkah.

Published: 8 December 2023 11:37 CET
Why is Macron under fire for Hanukkah candle ceremony in French presidential palace?
France's President Emmanuel Macron pictured at the Elysee Palace. Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP

His political opponents have accused him of breaking the country’s strict secularism laws, with one saying the candle ceremony was the equivalent of “playing with nitroglycerine and matches”.

On Thursday, the beginning of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, France’s Chief Rabbi Haïm Korsia was invited to the Elysée to light a candle to mark the day. The ceremony was part of an awards event at which Macron was handed a prize for his stance against anti-Semitism.

A brief video clip of this ceremony, showing the Rabbi lighting the candle as Macron looks on and smiles, was later published on social media by one of the event attendees – and has stirred huge political controversy, with the president accused of undermining the country’s strict laws on secularism (laïcité).

Macron’s supporters, however, insist that it is simply a ceremonial gesture, and intended to show support to the Jewish community in France at a time of rising anti-Semitism. 

So why the controversy?

France’s laws on state secularism, passed in 1905, give everyone in France the freedom to worship as they wish, but say that the religion should play no part in the running of the state.

The secularism requirement extends to all State bodies – from government ministries to local mairies and state-run schools – it’s for this reason that schools do not put on Nativity plays and mairies do not have Christmas cribs.

The rule also requires State employees to be secular during their working hours, so for example public servants like police officers, teachers or préfecture staff cannot wear any sign of their religion (eg kippah or Muslim headscarf) while at work.

Explained: What does laïcité really mean in France?

The Elysée Palace is both the home and the workplace of the president during their term of office, so all French presidents are entitled to worship how they chose while in residence. 

The controversy, however, is around whether the candle ceremony implies the State endorsement of any particular religion. 

Who says what?

Yonathan Arfi, president of the Jewish Council in France, described the ceremony as “a mistake”. He told Sud Radio: “It is not the place of the Élysée to light a Hanukkah candle, because the Republican DNA is to stay away from anything religious. This is not traditionally the role of the public authorities.”

Parti Socialiste politician Jérôme Guedj said: “As nice as it is, Hanukkah is a religious holiday. In which no elected official of the Republic should participate, like any religious display.”

Meanwhile Carole Delga, president of the southern region of Occitaine, said: “You don’t compromise with secularism. This common ground is precious but fragile.”

Parti Socialiste senator Laurence Rossignol went for a more dramatic image, saying: “President Macron is like a 10-year-old with a little chemist’s kit, but with real nitroglycerine and real matches.”

But some see the event as simply showing solidarity with the Jewish community, regarded as especially important this year since anti-Semitic acts have risen sharply since the October 7th Hamas attacks and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza.

Prime minister Elisabeth Borne, defending Macron, said: “We are in a period of rising anti-Semitism that we cannot allow to pass. There are different ways of sending messages (of support) to the Jewish community. She added that the candle ceremony as “a signal”. 

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said: “Secularism is not the negation of religions. We have to ensure that all religions can live together. I have always believed that religions can express their beliefs as long as they do not interfere with those of others and as long as they do not become a political ideology.”

Darmanin has previously seemed more uncompromising on secularism – such as the time in 2020 when he said he was “shocked” to see ethnic food aisles in supermarkets.

What does Macron say?

Asked about the criticism during a visit to the Notre-Dame cathedral Friday, Macron said he had no regrets “at all” and had allowed the celebration “in the spirit of the republic and of harmony”.

He had not himself participated in any religious ritual or ceremony that, he acknowledged, would have been “disrespectful of secularism”.

But “that’s not what happened”, he said.

Can politicians celebrate religious festivals?

It is absolutely OK for politicians to celebrate religious festivals such as Christmas or Hannukkah as private individuals.

It’s also common for ministers to publish festive greetings to their constituents – here’s Gérald Darmanin wishing “a very happy Hannukkah to all the Jews in France”. 

It’s also quite common to see politicians partake in the more secular aspects of Christmas such as wearing festive jumpers or decorating a Christmas tree – many local mayors give out hampers to their elderly constituents at Christmas time.

However, Macron was criticised for attending a Mass hosted by Pope Francis on his visit to Marseille in September. 

Member comments

  1. The Marie in my town has a long tradition of putting a Christmas nativity scene inside the building. So much for secularism.

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POLITICS

8 things you never knew about Andorra

The tiny statelet nestled in the Pyrenees mountains that mark the border between France and Spain hit the headlines with its new language requirement for residency permits – but what else is there to know about Andorra?

Published: 26 April 2024 15:11 CEST
8 things you never knew about Andorra

This week, Andorra passed a law setting a minimum Catalan language requirement for foreign residents. 

It’s not often the tiny, independent principality in the mountains makes the news – other than, perhaps, when its national football team loses (again) to a rather larger rival in international qualifying competitions.

The national side are due to play Spain in early June, as part of the larger nation’s warm-up for the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany. Here, then, in case you’re watching that match, at Estadio Nuevo Vivero, are a few facts about Andorra that you can astound your fellow football fans with…

Size matters

Small though it is – it has an area of just 468 square kilometres, a little more than half the size of the greater Paris area – there are five smaller states in Europe, 15 smaller countries in the world by area, and 10 smaller by population.

People

Its population in 2023 was 81,588. That’s fewer people than the city of Pau, in southwest France (which is itself the 65th largest town in France, by population).

High-living

The principality’s capital, Andorra la Vella (population c20,000 – about the same population as Dax) is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres above sea level. 

Spoken words

The official language – and the one you’ll need for a residency permit – is Catalan. But visitors will find Spanish, Portuguese and French are also commonly spoken, and a fair few people will speak some English, too.

Sport

We’ve already mentioned the football. But Andorra’s main claim to sporting fame is as a renowned winter sports venue. With about 350km of ski runs, across 3,100 hectares of mountainous terrain, it boasts the largest ski area in the Pyrenees.

Economic model

Tourism, the mainstay of the economy, accounts for roughly 80 percent of Andorra’s GDP. More than 10 million tourists visit every year.

It also has no sales tax on most items – which is why you’ll often find a queue at the French border as locals pop into the principality to buy things like alcohol, cigarettes and (bizarrely) washing powder, which are significantly cheaper.

Head of state

Andorra has two heads of state, because history. It’s believed the principality was created by Charlemagne (c748 – 814CE), and was ruled by the count of Urgell up to 988CE, when it was handed over to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell. The principality, as we know it today, was formed by a treaty between the bishop of Urgell and the count of Foix in 1278.

Today, the state is jointly ruled by two co-princes: the bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain and … the president of France, who (despite the French aversion to monarchy and nobility) has the title Prince of Andorra, following the transfer of the count of Foix’s claims to the Crown of France and, subsequently, to the head of state of the French Republic. 

Military, of sorts

Andorra does have a small, mostly ceremonial army. But all able-bodied Andorran men aged between 21 and 60 are obliged to respond to emergency situations, including natural disasters.

Legally, a rifle should be kept and maintained in every Andorran household – though the same law also states that the police will supply a firearm if one is required.

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