The social debate is delicate. But Emmanuel Macron intends to move forward on the question of the end of life “in a respectful way”, by finding a “middle way”, declared several representatives of religious authorities, received by the Head of State on Monday. On this question, “we felt that he absolutely wanted to move forward in a respectful way” and “in the complexity, he seeks to find a middle way”, declared the president of the Protestant Federation of France Christian Krieger, received at the Elysée for the wishes of the president to the representatives of the cults.
Among the latter were notably present the Chief Rabbi of France, Haïm Korsia, the President of the Conference of Bishops of France, Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, the rector of the Mosque of Paris, Chems-eddine Hafiz, or a representative of the Forum of Islam in France (Forif, a body made up of players in the field, created in 2022).
A consultation of religious “around April”
Emmanuel Macron said “that he would personally consult all the religious authorities, once the citizens’ convention has done its job”, “around April”, according to Christian Krieger. “At the same time,” he said, “he felt a duty to show respect for people who would have lost all meaning in their lives because of their suffering and their isolation. And that society must be able to respond to people who do not have religious answers for themselves”.
The Head of State also indicated that 2023 would be “the year of Forif”, “interlocutor” of the public authorities, with the holding of a new meeting “in March” and “the designation of interlocutors in the departments” , said Chems-eddine Hafiz.
“Religions”, a “resource for peace”
Finally, the President spoke at length about peace and the centers of war in the world, reported Haïm Korsia and Eric de Moulins-Beaufort: “Ukraine, Russia, but also Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, etc “. “He insisted on how religions can be a resource for peace,” he said.
Were present, on the government side, Elisabeth Borne and the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, they reported. In March, the approximately 200 French citizens of the Citizens’ Convention on the end of life will say whether or not to change the current law. In the fall, the various cults expressed their concerns, defending the “absolute” respect for life, and believing that a switch to “active assistance in dying” would constitute a major “break”.