To be French is to defend the right to mock, Macron tells new citizens
PARIS, Sept 4- The right to mock and caricature, even religion, is an essential part of being French, President Emmanuel Macron said at a naturalisation ceremony on Friday, days after the start of a trial of the accused accomplices in an attack by Islamist gunmen on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015.. In the Paris Pantheon, a mausoleum to France’s heroes,…
* Macron personally gives five immigrants their papers
* Ceremony marks 150th anniversary of Third Republic
* Macron say immigrants have shaped the nation’s history
* As Charlie Hebdo trial begins, freedom of speech key theme
By Geert De Clercq
PARIS, Sept 4 (Reuters) – The right to mock and caricature,even religion, is an essential part of being French, PresidentEmmanuel Macron said at a naturalisation ceremony on Friday,days after the start of a trial of the accused accomplices in anattack by Islamist gunmen on the satirical magazine CharlieHebdo in 2015.
In the Paris Pantheon, a mausoleum to France’s heroes,Macron handed five new citizens their French papers in a solemnceremony to mark the 150th anniversary of the Third Republic.
“At the start of the trial of the attacks of January 2015, Isay that to be French is to defend the right to laugh, jest,mock and caricature, of which Voltaire maintained that it is thesource of all other rights,” Macron said.
More than a dozen defendants went on trial this week fortheir role in the killing spree in the Paris offices of CharlieHebdo, where 12 people died. This week, the magazinerepublished the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad that hadsparked the ire of Islamist militants.
Welcoming five new citizens from Britain, Algeria, Cameroun,Peru and Lebanon, Macron said immigrants have long been a forcefor good in France, and noted that the Third Republic wasproclaimed from Paris city hall by the son of an Italianimmigrant, Leon Gambetta, on Sept. 4, 1870.
“He was, like you, a son of immigrants, French of mixedblood. It was he who resuscitated the republic, this reign offreedom,” Macron said.
Macron said many other immigrants have shaped Frenchhistory, including Polish-born scientist Marie Curie,American-born singer Josephine Baker, Tunisian-born feministGisele Alimi, and Felix Eboue, France’s first Black colonialgovernor and first Black man to have his ashes placed in thePantheon.
“Now it is your turn to write your chapter in the book ofthe republic,” he said.(Reporting by Geert De ClercqEditing by Frances Kerry)
