Debate on national identity a flop

At the end of the month-long debate on national identity in France, Prime Minister François Fillon announced on Monday official measures to strengthen the French identity in public life. The daily Le Monde finds both the debate and the results an embarrassment: "The few paltry measures announced - notably hoisting the French flag in front of schools, hanging the Declaration of Human Rights in classrooms and singing the Marseillaise once a year - show how badly this initiative has failed. By clearly linking national identity and immigration this debate was led on grounds too contentious to meet with any acceptance. Launched just a few months prior to tightly fought regional elections it was clearly another attempt to poach on the territory of the [extreme right] Front National and put the Left in an awkward position. But fortunately the French were not dupes. The government is anything but stronger as a result, and it only has itself to blame."

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