I appreciate the links you provide in your post. Varied and informative.

Thanks.

Nobody in France takes him seriously.

However, just because France is a liberal democracy, it doesn't mean that it shares the same value as the Anglo-American democratic countries. (Like Canada.)

British Secularism means a public / private divide between state indifference. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Letter_Concernin...)

France Secularism is more like:
(1) ‘the independence of the political authorities and of the different spiritual or religious persuasions’ (this signifies an absence of political intervention in religious matters and an absence of religious sway over political authority);
(2) a guarantee of freedom of conscience and worship, which represents the ‘positive content’ of secularism;
(3) a duty on the part of religions and their congregations to adapt, and conduct themselves in moderate fashion, so as to make coexistence possible, in exchange for the guarantees and
protections afforded them by the state;
(4) the need to live together and construct a common future – which leads to identifying secularism with the ‘republican pact’ in practice.
(http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/0205-B...)

I think you're wrong in calling this non-progressive. From a French perspective, it is very progressive. It's just intolerant. But since the French Revolution, toleration was never part of the package.

Would have got maybe a few comments from this here dating advice site running under the 8asians title…