The circular of March 15, 2017 regarding respect for the principle of secularism in public service provides for the identification of a “secularism officer” in each administration, with the understanding that this can be the ethics officer responsible for providing any public agent who requests it with useful advice on respecting the ethical principles of public service, including impartiality, neutrality, secularism, respect for freedom of conscience and dignity.

Article 3 of Law No. 2021-1109 of August 24, 2021 reinforcing respect for the principles of the Republic has established the function of secularism officer, now inscribed in Article L.124-3 of the General Code of Public Service, which states: “The secularism officer is responsible for providing any useful advice on respecting the principle of secularism to any public agent or department head who consults them. They are responsible for organizing a secularism day on December 9 of each year. The functions of the secularism officer are carried out subject to the responsibility and prerogatives of the department head.”

The appointment of a secularism officer is now required in all administrations of the State, independent administrative authorities and independent public authorities, State public institutions, local authorities and their public institutions.

Duties of the Secularism Officer

Decree No. 2021-1802 of December 23, 2021 concerning the secularism officer in public service specifies their duties (Art. 5 and Art. 7), which are as follows:

• Advice “for the implementation of the principle of secularism”. The officer responds to individual requests from agents on the application of the principle of secularism and helps them deal with situations they face in the performance of their duties.
• Awareness-raising of public agents on the principle of secularism and dissemination of information about this principle within the concerned administration. The officer can develop general recommendations on the application of this principle or participate in actions taken by department heads to adapt the implementation of this principle to the work context of their department.
• Organization of the secularism day on December 9 each year, at their level or in coordination with other secularism officers.
• At the request of the authority mentioned in points 1° to 3° of Article 1, the officer may be called upon in case of difficulty in applying the principle of secularism between an agent and public service users.
• The officer establishes an annual report that will assess the application of the principle of secularism and any breaches observed by them in the services where they intervene, with an account of all actions taken during the past year. This annual report must be sent to the authority that appointed them, and a summary of the report must also be transmitted to the members of the competent social committee.

The Appointment of Secularism Officers

Secularism officers are chosen from among magistrates, civil servants and military personnel, active or retired, or from contractual agents with an indefinite duration contract (Art. 3 of Decree No. 2021-1802 of December 23, 2021).

It is the responsibility of the department head to choose the most suitable agent for this mission from among the staff members. However, this choice must be made at a level that allows for the effective exercise of their functions, which means that the agent must not find themselves in a conflictual situation with regard to other functions they may exercise. Furthermore, the secularism officer must receive training adapted to their missions and profile.

The secularism officer is appointed, for a duration that they set, by the competent department head:

• They are appointed by the departmental prefect for inter-ministerial departmental directorates.
• They are appointed by the president of the management center for local authorities and public institutions affiliated with it.
• They are appointed by the authority that decided that the officer would be common to several services or public institutions. In cases where this authority has not provided for the appointment of a common officer, several public institutions placed under the same supervisory authority may, on their own, decide to appoint a common officer.

To be effective, the secularism officer must be known to the agents. The appointing authority must therefore inform the agents under its authority collectively and by any means of the appointment of the secularism officer and how to contact them.

Secularism Officer of the National Education System

Secularism officers within the National Education system can be an academic inspector, regional pedagogical inspector, an academy principal, or a departmental delegate of National Education (DDEN).

Each academy has an officer who acts at the request of the head of the institution to assist the teaching teams.

Moreover, officially known as ‘Secularism Officers of National Education’, the ‘Values of the Republic’ teams are responsible for mediating between teachers and parents on the subject of secularism. They are part of the Ministerial Monitoring and Alert Unit (CMVA), launched in 2017 by the government. These officers can be called upon by teachers or school principals in case of incidents related to secularism, and can visit classrooms to answer questions from teachers, parents, or students.

The ‘Values of the Republic’ teams intervene in response to reports made by primary school directors and secondary school principals.

Obligations of the Secularism Officer

A civil servant must perform their duties ‘with dignity, impartiality, integrity, and probity’, according to Article 25 of the 1983 law on the rights and obligations of civil servants, and is ‘bound by the obligation of neutrality’. They must also respect the principle of secularism, and ‘treat all people equally and respect their freedom of conscience and dignity’.

The secularism officer is ‘bound by professional secrecy and discretion’.

In What Cases Should the Secularism Officer Be Consulted?

The secularism officer can be consulted by public agents and department heads to answer their questions about the implementation of the principle of secularism, whether for individual situations or general questions.

They can also be called upon in case of difficulties in applying the principle of secularism between an agent and users of the public service, thus playing a mediation role. They can answer, for example, whether an agent can wear a religious symbol while performing their duties.

The officer’s opinion has only consultative value.

APPLICABLE REFERENCES

Articles L 124-3, L 124-26, L 452-38 and L 452-39 of the General Code of Public Service; Article 3 of LAW No. 2021-1109 of August 24, 2021 reinforcing the principles of the Republic; circular of March 15, 2017 on respect for the principle of secularism in public service; Decree No. 2021-1802 of December 23, 2021 relating to the secularism officer in public service; Decree No. 2022-237 of February 24, 2022 relating to exchanges between the secularism officer of establishments mentioned in Article 2 of Title IV of the general statute of State civil servants and local authorities and regional health agencies concerning breaches of the requirement of neutrality; Circular DGOS/RH4/2011/356 of September 5, 2011; Instruction No. SGMAS/Health ARS Division/2022/39 of February 9, 2022.