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• Simplificating (Score:2)

  by rafael (2125)

  I don't think you can compare european and north-american politics in terms of "left" and "right". For example, in the USA, everyone seems to find normal the statement "God bless America", or that a president alludes in public to his religious beliefs. In France, even the ultra-far-right representatives avoid doing this (in public at least), because this would be felt as a direct attack against the Republic. -- Idem for the problem of racial segregation, which is often tied to immigration in Europe, not in
  • Re:Simplificating (Score:2)

    by TorgoX (1933) <sburkeNO@SPAMcpan.org> on 2003.05.04 21:25 (#19784) Homepage Journal

    In France, even the ultra-far-right representatives avoid [statements with religious allusions] (in public at least), because this would be felt as a direct attack against the Republic

    I've never been able to figure out what French people meant by "the Republic" -- what does it mean in general? And what does it mean in your sentence, such that statements with religious allusions could be seen as at attack on it?

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    • Republic (Score:2)

      by rafael (2125)

      Republic : an institution ruling a social contract and public instances, for the common good of all citizens, disregarding their race, opinions or religious beliefs. A government official is expected to take decisions based on the law of the Republic, which is universal, as it applies to all French citizens, and not based on some religious law, which is particular, and thus implicitely discriminative. In other words, when someone works the Republic, s?he's required to do so as if s?he were an atheist. Faili
      • Re:Republic (Score:2)

        by TorgoX (1933)

        Wow. The only sense of "republic" I ever learned was something like "a form of state where the sovereignty rests with the people [plagiarist.com] instead of with a king".