This Thursday, December 7, 2023, the Chief Rabbi of France Haïm Korsia lit a candle on the occasion of the Jewish festival Hanouka at the Élysée, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron. A sequence which created a lively controversy. Some elected officials denounce an obstacle to secularism on the part of the head of state.
Did Emmanuel Macron commit a political mistake? This Thursday, December 7, during the European Conference of Rabbis at the Élysée, the President of the Republic authorized and attended the lighting of the first Hanouka candle by the Chief Rabbi of France Haïm Korsia in the grounds of the ‘Elysium. A sequence which did not fail to provoke a reaction from the French political class to the point of creating a real controversy this Friday morning. Several elected officials, mainly from the left, denounce an obstacle to secularism
On Saturday, we will celebrate the anniversary of the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State.
This evening, #Macron the crowd by organizing a religious ceremony at the Elysée.
An unforgivable political mistake. https://t.co/gTXAmkJqb2
— Manuel Bompard (@mbompard) December 8, 2023
“Saturday, we celebrate the anniversary of the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State. This evening, Macron tramples it by organizing a religious ceremony at the Élysée” declared the coordinator of France Insoumise on X (formerly Twitter) denouncing an “unforgivable political mistake”. For his part, the president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (Crif) Yonathan Arfi evokes an “error” on the part of the head of state. “Indeed, it is not the place within the Élysée to light a Hanouka candle because the Republican DNA is to stay away from anything religious,” he declared.
As a reminder, Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday established by Talmud, one of the founding texts of rabbinic Judaism. This festival commemorates the victory of Judas Macabee against the Greek Empire of Antiochus IV, the date on which the miracle of the “Lights”, the current symbol of Hanukkah, occurred. This year, the Jewish holiday also spelled Hanukkah begins on Thursday, December 7, 2023 and ends on Friday, December 15.
From this Friday morning, the Élysée tried to put out the fire. “We did not organize a Hanouka ceremony. The context is very important” declared the entourage of the President of the Republic among our colleagues from BFMTV. “Secularism is not the negation of religion. It is separating the action and management of the State from religion,” indicates one of his close friends. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne sees this gesture by Emmanuel Macron as a “message of support for the Jewish community (…) a signal”. For his part, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin denounces “shameless anti-Semitism” at the microphone of France Info this Friday morning.