A month after the dramatic events in France and the emotional reaction of millions of citizens rising up against the Barbaric act and for the freedom of thought, the time has come for more reasoned thinking… that is if it cannot be thoroughly reasonable…

In the debates that ensued, secularism has been presented as an antidote to the passions brought on by the excessive interpretation of religious precepts, regardless of their origin. The problem is that this secularism has not been expressed peaceably, but rather as an expectation authorizing all provocations. In the name of a libertarian heritage and a space opened up by planetary emotion, those scoffers of priests and all other religions took immense pleasure in rubbing in their contestation.

Secular disrespect can also meet its limits when it is uselessly hurtful. When President François Hollande finds it unbearable and calls for punishing those who reacted violently to the cover of the last Charlie Hebdo, François the Pope, is more critical: "One may not provoke, one may not insult the faith of others, one may not ridicule it." Which François is on the road to peace and mutual respect?

How can we explain the recent success of Voltaire's Treatise on Tolerance and this unchecked desire to push things just a bit further? France, permanent land of paradox, preaches extended brotherhood and throws fat on the fire to see if the coals are still hot. In the end, one might wonder if the secular discourse isn't more intolerant...

I am convinced that even the victims of the attacks against Charlie Hebdo and the Kosher supermarket would prefer us to not harbor such unhealthy passions. By wanting to accomplish too much, the moralizers are opening a Pandora's box and there is no certainty as to what lies within it…. In any case, nothing good. It is clear that our country cannot rid itself of its underlying xenophobia. Not so long ago, this France that was "black, blanc, beur" (black, white, Arab), that thrilled an entire country with its victories, proved there was more strength in diversity than in narrow-mindedness. This message no longer resounds and a spring has sprung. And yet it was our strength.

Buried in the depths of the unconscious in a period of economic Euphoria, the traces of colonialism and racism resurface when difficulties accumulate. The last political results show the face of a France that is closed and falls back on old worn out values. It comes as no surprise that entire communities have a mind to go somewhere else since they are made to feel they don't belong. They thought they belonged to the country of Rousseau and Voltaire, but Camus's The Stranger is thrown in their face...

Tourism professionals, apostolic hosts, we are necessarily open to others and their differences through our passion for hospitality. Long before us, Hermes, the messenger of the gods, protector of roads and crossings, made it his job to protect travelers, regardless of origin… he knew a flourishing business lay ahead. Since Tourism passed under the aegis of Foreign Affairs, it might be wise for the Minister played on this universal dimension that is indispensable to France to hold onto its position as a tourism leader as London already begins to claim its European preeminence.