Like the remainder of the country, French evangelicals went to the polls on Sunday for the second round of parliamentary elections in what became a showdown between the far right and the remainder of the country. The Nouveau Front Populaire (New Popular Front), a fragile latest coalition of leftist parties, formed a “Republican front” with the centrist parties allied with President Emmanuel Macron. While this strategy successfully kept Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (National Rally) in third, neither the leftist nor centrist parties won an outright majority within the National Assembly, a situation which can lead to quite a few political stalemates within the months to come back.
French evangelicals represented only a tiny variety of Sunday’s voter turnout; about 60 percent of all voters within the country of nearly 68 million showed up, the most important turnout since 1981. At 745,000, the variety of evangelicals has grown by nearly 100,000 lately but stays squarely on the margins.
Despite their community’s size, French evangelical leaders have repeatedly engaged the challenges affecting their country, reminiscent of weighing in on concerns over Islam and free speech, speaking out a few bill attempting to end Muslim separatism that might make churches collateral damage, and articulating their pro-life values after the country enshrined abortion into the structure.
Prior to the June 30 first-round election that preceded yesterday’s runoff, the Conseil National des Evangéliques de France (CNEF, National Council of Evangelicals in France) called on believers to wish, to be discerning, and to vote.
“Politics cannot do every thing,” the press release stated, noting that in such troubled times evangelicals whose ultimate hope is in God should act in accordance with their hope and “be catalysts of peace, seeds of life, actors of reconciliation and hospitality.”
Given the historic moment in French politics and evangelicals’ miniscule electoral presence, Christianity Today asked Christian leaders what role French evangelicals can play in such a fraught era.
Erwan Cloarec, president of CNEF
In this time of division and national confusion, the churches in France must, greater than anything, show by what they’re that one other society is feasible—a society by which the divisions of origin, gender, and social condition that fracture humanity don’t prevail.
This is the meaning of “neither Jew nor Greek, … neither slave nor free, … neither male nor female” of which the apostle Paul speaks in his letter to the Galatians (3:28, NASB). We owe this instance to the world, and we owe it to ourselves to be sure that the divisions and invectives that plague global society are usually not imported into our communities.”
Rachel Calvert, president of A Rocha France
Many French evangelical churches bring together people from diverse political, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. In this fractured political climate, our contribution must involve serving those that are “not like us” in addition to practical take care of God’s creation.
We grieve on the rise of a celebration which has seduced voters by promising short term relief, while scapegoating migrants and largely ignoring long run issues such biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and the impact of climate change. Yet we will and can proceed to bear witness to the God who’s reconciling all things to himself in Jesus.
Matthew Glock, missionary, pastor, and coordinator of CAEF’s (Communautés et Assemblées Évangéliques de France) church planting commission
The snap election called for by President Macron offers a window to the disorder of French politics and the ineluctable movement of many citizens to the extremes of the political spectrum. It is difficult to assume, inside this reality of national politics, how the evangelicals in France could have a task, but on a neighborhood level there’s much to do.
The method to offer hope in these confusing times is to follow Jesus Christ’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” By following Christ’s example of sacrificial love, the church has much to supply.
Caroline Bretones, pastor of Église protestante unie de France (United Protestant Church of France)
Persecuted for greater than two centuries and really much a minority, Protestants have learned to live discreetly in France while developing a keen sense of responsibility, freedom of conscience, and social commitment. If they’ve a decisive role to play today, it is just not by making public statements that demonize certain parties while implicitly stigmatizing their voters but somewhat by continuing to unite extremely diverse men and ladies (ethnically, culturally, socially, and professionally) around a Christian hope that transcends [not only] human divisions but in addition frustrations and simple solutions.
As Christians, our belonging together to the dominion of God must take precedence over some other citizenship of this world and enable us to open up spaces for dialogue and communion where divisions threaten.
