Une laïcité à géométrie variable. Les glissements idéologiques du champ politique français au début du 21 ème siècle (2002-2012)

Abstract

This essay analyzes recent transformations in French secularism, observed from the standpoint of the changes in the hierarchization of various secular norms. After reviewing the legal and historical context of French secularism and the interpretation of it as ambiguous liberalism (Jean-Pierre Machelon), the essay focuses on the special relationship that this secularism has to Islam. The second part of the essay concentrates on the period 2002-2012, focusing, in particular, on the policies of former Minister of the Interior and, later, President of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy. Three stages in this transformation are reconstructed here: they lead from New Secularism through so-called Positive Secularism to Falsified Secularism.