Jean JAURÈS (1859–1914)., Article published in *L’Humanité* on 19

Article published in *L’Humanité* on 19 December 1906, concerning the public practice of religion, during the debate on the Act of 2 January 1907. ‘The committee agrees with the government on the new bill concerning the practice of religion. It will therefore be possible to pass it swiftly. This is an excellent development: firstly, the Act itself, despite its uncertainties and shortcomings, is a good one. It grants Catholics the general right of association under the 1901 Act, and it also makes the Papacy’s resistance to a law that clearly enshrines freedom even more indefensible in the eyes of the nation. It requires them, for the exercise of the right of assembly as applied to worship, to submit only one declaration per year, and it is no longer possible for the clericals to claim that this simplification of formalities can be taken away from them by a mere circular. Finally, by treating the priest within the religious building designated for worship as a ‘user’, the Act grants him facilities and rights that will make the practice of worship easier for him. Whilst the law demonstrates a great spirit of freedom and consideration towards believers, it imposes the first necessary sanctions on Rome’s foolish and culpable intransigence by ordering the immediate transfer of assets. By passing this law without delay or hesitation, the Republican majority will prove once again that it is as far removed from a policy of persecution as it is from a policy of weakness’… Etc. And Jaurès concludes, questioning the Senate’s attitude: ‘It is therefore not to bring down the government over an obstacle that we remind it that its duty is to commit itself fully before the Senate. The Senate’s political and social responsibility must be clearly put on the line before the nation. An immediate government crisis, brought about by the Ministry’s resolute move to put the question of confidence before the Senate, would be preferable to the lethargy, discouragement and mistrust that will overwhelm the Republican majority if the Senate blocks the social legislation; Mr CLEMENCEAU is in the habit of saying that he is in power to act. The real action now, the true mark of strength and foresight, is to make the Senate understand the social necessities of the new era. This is the absolute prerequisite for this legal evolution, which it is the very essence of radicalism to support.”

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