Overview
- The 1905 statute enshrined freedom of conscience and strict state neutrality, ending public funding of worship and formalizing separation, with Alsace‑Moselle remaining an exception.
- Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu honored Aristide Briand at his grave to mark the anniversary, highlighting renewed attention at the top of government without immediate legal changes.
- PS deputy Jérôme Guedj has filed a bill to create a Defender of laïcité and to codify a legal definition of the principle, positioning Parliament as the arena for potential adjustments.
- A Fondation Jean‑Jaurès study and recent editorials describe a generational divide, with 18‑ to 30‑year‑olds less hostile to visible religious signs in schools than their elders.
- Commentators and politicians trade accusations of instrumentalization across the spectrum, even as prior reforms—the 2004 school sign ban and the 2021 separatism law—continue to shape practice, and international observers contrast France’s model with Anglo‑American pluralism.