This Friday, the President of the Republic visited the Panthéon to deliver a speech celebrating the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic on September 4, 1870, by Léon Gambetta.
While delivering his speech, the head of state outlined his vision on the social Republic, security, identity, and separatism.
Tribute to Gisèle Halimi
As announced by his entourage, the head of state paid tribute to “emblematic and exemplary figures of the Republic’s history” such as Marie Curie, Joséphine Baker, Félix Éboué, Léon Blum, and Gisèle Halimi who passed away this summer. On this occasion, Emmanuel Macron announced that a “tribute will be paid to her in the courtyard of the Invalides.”
Reminder of freedoms and the right to blasphemy
“The Republic is not given, never acquired; it is a conquest, always to be protected or reconquered. Being French is, first and foremost, to passionately love freedom,” began Emmanuel Macron. When discussing secularism, the head of state again supported the right to blasphemy: “This unique regime in the world, which guarantees the freedom to believe or not to believe, is inseparable from a freedom of expression extending to blasphemy. I say this as the trial for the January 2015 attacks opens, being French means defending the right to laugh, the freedom to mock, to caricature,” he declared.
Firm discourse on separatism
Regarding the fight against separatism, Emmanuel Macron reminded that “there will never be a place in France for those who, often in the name of a God, sometimes with the help of a foreign power, intend to impose the law of a group. No, the Republic, because it is indivisible, admits no separatist adventure.” Moreover, the head of state specified that a draft law to combat separatism will be presented this fall.
Denunciation of toppled statues
Emmanuel Macron also addressed the controversy over monuments and statues associated with France’s colonial history or the slave trade. “The Republic does not topple statues, because we do not simply choose one part of history. Because we do not choose one part of France, we choose France,” he emphasized.
Support for elected officials
In response to the increasing violence against elected officials in particular, the President of the Republic held a firm stance: “Those who attack police officers, gendarmes, magistrates, Republic elected officials… must be severely punished. Force to the law, never to arbitrariness. Those who attack the law enforcement and the elected officials will not get away,” he insisted.
Naturalization ceremony
At the end of his speech, Emmanuel Macron presided over a naturalization ceremony for six new citizens.
