A lesson on tolerance, from John Le Carre for France With a new law to monitor Islamic separatism, France betrays an idea of citizenship and republican values that is deeply insular. Updated: December 25, 2020 4:19:26 pm France President Emmanuel Macron “Should we be free to burn Korans, mock the passionately held religions of others? Maybe we should – but should we also be surprised when the believers we have offended respond in fury? I couldn’t answer that question at the time and, with all good will, I still can’t. But I am a little proud, in retrospect, that I spoke against the easy trend, reckoning with the wrath of outraged western intellectuals, and suffering it in all its righteous glory. And if I met Salman [Rushdie] tomorrow? I would warmly shake the hand of a brilliant fellow writer.” – John Le Carre, 2012