The assassination of schoolteacher Samuel Paty has revived a long-standing debate in France on secularism, freedom of expression and the role of the state. Paty had shown his class two of the cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that were originally published by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Ten days later, after an online campaign against him, he was killed by Abdullakh Anzorov, an 18-year-old of Chechen descent. The Guardian’s Europe correspondent, Jon Henley,tell Rachel Humphreys that the reaction to the murder of President Emmanuel Macron was swift and inflammatory. His defense of secularism, French secularism is now a determining principle of the republic. But Macron’s response has led to furious protests across the Muslim world.
Writer and journalist Nabila Ramdani tell Rachel that everythingThe debate in France on freedom of expression and secularism must recognize the appalling living conditions and life chances of the many French people with an immigrant background.
Photograph: Michel Euler / AP
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