The term is connoted, necessarily. It was the one chosen by Nicolas Sarkozy for, in 2007 and in 2009, to launch a great debate on immigration and integration, which did not take place in the face of the outcry. Now "the national identity" is making a comeback ... in a draft flyer of La République en marche !.
This document published by the movement, which Europe 1 has procured, summarizes the "new contract for the Nation" outlined by Emmanuel Macron Monday evening, when he spoke on television to try to ease the crisis of "yellow vests". The leaflet summarizes the social announcements of the president, such as the "increase in the income of a worker to Smic of 100 euros net per month", the end-of-year bonus exempt from charges and taxes or the cancellation of the increase in CSG for retirees with incomes between 1,700 and 2,000 euros per month. But he also mentions "the opening of a big debate of 3 months in all the country" to think about political stakes, like the public services and ... "a collective reflection on the national identity".
"That's a very bad idea". The subject had indeed been addressed by Emmanuel Macron Monday evening. "I also want us to agree with the nation on what its deepest identity is," he said. "That we tackle the issue of immigration, we have to face it." But the use of the term "national identity" is not without a stir in walkers. "It's a very bad idea," slice Aurélien Taché, deputy of Val-d'Oise, who had been responsible for floor on the aspect "integration" of the law asylum and immigration. "It refers to an ideologically connoted conception of this theme, and at the time, with Nicolas Sarkozy, you had a bias that immigration would put national identity in danger. that it enriches the French identity. "
Talk about immigration "with our words". For Aurélien Taché, it is necessary to address this issue. "We have to think about what it means to be a citizen in a context of open society, in the place of otherness, of religion in French society, but we have to do it with our words." The MP assures that the leaflet is a working document, and that the term "national identity will disappear". It could be replaced by "the identity of the nation" or, as advocates Aurélien Taché, "a reflection that encompasses issues of citizenship and immigration".