First line french constitution: an “indivisible, secular, democratic and social republic.”

First line french constitution: an “indivisible, secular, democratic and social republic.”

Vive La Laïcité! Sarkozy and Hollande Defend Church-State Separation in France

The first line of the first article of the French Constitution declares France an “indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic.”    ….
Among the topics of discussion in the French presidential campaign is la laïcité, the French concept of political secularism. The first line of the first article of the French Constitution declares France an “indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic.” The Republic’s 1905 law on the Separation of the Churches and the State put la laïcité into practice, but the French Constitution contains no clear equivalent to the Establishment clause in the American First Amendment. La laïcité has evolved to include a 2004 law banning the display of religious symbols (hijabs, crosses, you name it) in schools. To the laïcité-minded French, official pious displays like opening Congressional committee hearings with prayers are inconceivable.
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