French call to defend liberty, equality and fraternity against racism and discrimination, Digi Mart USA News: Several dozen French political, associative and intellectual figures are calling for the defense of the republican values of liberty, equality and fraternity. They warn of rising racism, discrimination and social inequality and urge public authorities to take concrete and urgent action.
The signatories say that every era confronts peoples with a decisive choice: give in to fear and withdrawal, or defend the principles that underpin their common future. They argue that France’s republican motto is not a formula reserved for celebration days but a daily struggle lived through institutions, public services, schools, associations, civic mobilizations and local solidarity.
The authors write that these values are currently weakened. Liberty is threatened when fear of others is used to justify discrimination, restrict rights or designate scapegoats.
Equality retreats as social and territorial inequalities widen and access to housing, employment, health care and education becomes harder for millions of people.
Fraternity, they add, is under attack whenever citizens are set against one another based on origin, religion, skin color, gender or social condition. The signatories say they refuse resignation and reject treating racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia and all forms of discrimination as ordinary opinions.
The text states that the signatories believe France is stronger when it unites rather than divides, when it protects rather than stigmatizes, and when it invests in education, culture, public services and social justice rather than withdrawal and mistrust. They describe the call as a response to social tensions, international crises and the rise of far-right forces worldwide.
The signatories demand that the relevant ministers take urgent steps to fight racism and discrimination, protect public freedoms, strengthen equal rights and respond to the social emergency. Their proposals include:
Immediately reinforcing human and financial resources devoted to combating racism, anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, and strengthening the justice system so that racist, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, homophobic and discriminatory acts are handled quickly and exemplarily.
Creating a national network of “Equality and Fight Against Discrimination” referents in every police station and gendarmerie brigade to support victims and facilitate filing complaints, and making mandatory anti-discrimination training widespread for public employees in the police, justice, education, health and administration sectors.
Systematically applying legal sanctions against perpetrators of racist acts and disseminators of hate speech, and tightening oversight of hateful content on social networks, digital platforms, television and radio channels.
Implementing education on equality, citizenship and anti-discrimination in all schools, strengthening the teaching of the history of slavery, colonization, migration and equality struggles, and creating a large national museum of colonialism and decolonization dedicated to research and dialogue between memories.
Increasing support for associations that assist victims and work daily against racism, and adopting an ambitious national plan against precarity guaranteeing access to housing, health care, employment and social support for the most vulnerable.
Strengthening local public services, supporting cultural, sporting and educational projects that foster encounter and coexistence, guaranteeing effective equal access to rights for everyone living in France, and creating a national emergency pact for real equality with exceptional resources to end the social and territorial inequalities that fuel discrimination.
The signatories conclude that each day of inaction feeds injustice, divisions and hate speech, and that the republic is defended not only through words but through actions, resources and clear political will. They call on citizens, associations, unions, elected officials and all democratic forces to mobilize, stating that the republican promise must be made real today rather than tomorrow and together rather than separately.
Signatories include Halima Khiar Menhoudj, deputy mayor of Montreuil; Muriel Casalaspro, regional councillor of Île-de-France; historian Benjamin Stora; Fathia Keloua Hachi, deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis; Oriane Filhol, vice-president of the Seine-Saint-Denis department; Nacer Kettane, founder and president of BeurFM; Aline Archimbaud, former senator for Seine-Saint-Denis; and Mehdy Belabbas, co-president of the association Pour la Mémoire, Contre l’Oubli, among others.
