By Michel Rose
PARIS, Sept 28 (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Europe was built on a “Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian foundation”, invoking the continent’s religious heritage in a speech alongside Pope Leo.
The remarks were notable from the leader of a constitutionally secular state, in a country that regularly agonises over national identity, religion and the place of faith in public life. Leo’s tour has received an enthusiastic public reception.
Macron, who attended Leo’s last mass in Metz on Monday after skipping other religious services, said Europe’s heritage had helped crystallise “the primacy of the person” and later “the free and rational individual”.
“Our Europe … is above all a civilisation,” Macron said. “This Europe of our cities and villages, schools and universities, cafes and public squares, was built on a Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian foundation.”
Macron added, however, that peace, truth and democracy were under threat not only from conflict such as Russia’s war in Ukraine but also from social fragmentation and online manipulation.
He called the European Union a unique political project founded on peace and equality among its members, at a time when Russia’s war in Ukraine has revived concerns over security on the continent.
But he also urged Europeans not to succumb to divisive nationalism or online manipulation.
“The truth will set us free,” he said, calling for action against an epidemic of disinformation. He said algorithms amplified negative emotions that fuelled division.
“A democracy does not die only under shells,” Macron said. “It can also fade when loneliness spreads and citizens stop listening to one another.”
(Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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