Quebec ‘not alone’ in commitment to secularism, says French Prime Minister Attal

MONTREAL — French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal used his visit to Quebec this week to express strong support for the province’s model of state secularism even as he claimed to abstain from weighing in on debates over the controversial policy.

And despite his vocal backing of Quebec’s secular values, Attal said he did not discuss the matter in meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa this week, insisting his endorsement did not constitute meddling in Canadian politics.

“I believe that my responsibility when I’m abroad and when I speak to politicians, democratically elected, that have chosen this model, my responsibility is to tell them that they are not alone with this model,” Attal said alongside Premier François Legault in Quebec City. “Is this interfering in political debates in Canada? I don’t think so.”

Quebec’s secularism policy includes a 2019 law that bans many public sector employees including teachers and judges from wearing religious symbols at work — legislation that critics say discriminates against religious minorities.

Secularism is also a foundational principle for France, where it is illegal to wear face-covering veils in the street. And in his previous post as French education minister, Attal banned long robes in classrooms citing their popularity among Muslim students.

“For us, secularism is above all a freedom,” Attal said. “Secularism is what allows everyone to make their choices in good conscience, to be free to believe or not believe, and be free to decide (to) or decide not to practise a religion, to show their attachment and belonging to a religion. Secularism is what allows equality between citizens.”

Quebec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21, has withstood multiple lawsuits, but its opponents hope to push their case to the Supreme Court of Canada. Earlier this week the English Montreal School Board said it would seek leave to appeal to the country’s highest court a decision upholding the law. Meanwhile, the federal government has indicated it would participate in a challenge to the law at the Supreme Court.

Attal said Friday that he sees secularism as a way for governments to guarantee equal treatment of citizens regardless of personal beliefs, and that France shares Quebec’s commitment to religious non-affiliation.

His validation of secularism differed from his noncommittal statement on Quebec independence.

Attal affirmed Thursday that he supports the long-standing French policy of “non-interference” and “non-indifference” toward Quebec sovereignty. On Friday, he expanded on those comments, saying he prefers to interpret the policy as one of “sensitivity and respect.”

“We obviously have to respect Quebec in its capacity to conduct internal democratic and political debates,” he said. “I don’t want to make a declaration here that would give the impression that I’m taking part in a debate taking place here in Quebec political life.”

The French prime minister was scheduled to conclude his three-day visit to Canada with a brief visit to Montreal Friday afternoon to attend discussions on the economy hosted by Quebec’s public pension fund — Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec — and the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

The value of French imports to Quebec was more than double Quebec’s exports to the European country in 2023, according to Statistics Canada. But Legault noted Friday that Quebec has increased its exports to France by 37 per cent since 2019, and he underlined opportunities for further exchange between the two jurisdictions as they develop green economies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press.

Thomas MacDonald, The Canadian Press