Forcing French

Better Republicans for France?

A good idea? From The Guardian:

French children are to be given a "citizen's handbook" to teach them to be better republicans, as part of national identity measures announced by the government today.

Schools will be ordered to fly the French flag and to have a copy of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in every classroom.

The measures, announced by the French prime minister, François Fillon, are the first to emerge from the country's controversial debate on national identity.

Under new rules, immigrants who come to live in France, who since 2007 have had to sign a contract of welcome and integration, will have to take part in a more solemn ceremony to become French citizens. They will also be expected to demonstrate a better command of the French language and a greater knowledge of the "values of the republic". All candidates will be required to sign a "charter" outlining their rights and responsibilities...

"The Tricolor must be affixed to every school and the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which constitutes our republican reference, must be present in each class," said Fillon.

Not sure what I think about this. On the one hand, I do think there's something to the idea of assimilation and requiring the citizenry to be somewhat versed in the basics of civics and national history. But what is there really to boast of when it comes to the Reign of Terror, the guillotine and Robespierre? What did the French Revolution do, or seek to do, to authentic French culture? The Ancien Régime certainly could have used an aggiornamento, but a macabre Revolution...I'm not so sure.

Modern day France has a host of problems, mostly of its own making, i.e., its politicians have forced multiculturalism for decades now (while the birthrate of the non-Muslim French population has plummeted, thanks to contraception, etc.), and all of a sudden, they are coming to the realization that they have no idea who they are or what they stand for, and are facing the largest Muslim presence within their borders in all of Europe.

As Jerry Seinfeld would say to his troubled friends: "Good luck with all that."