The Living and the Dead, by Jean-Paul Delevoye

LE MONDE | 08.05.04 | 14h28

Tombs desecrated in the Jewish cemetery of Herrlisheim; others, Christian ones, daubed with nazi inscriptions in another Alsatian village; a cemetery sacked in Amiens, another in Mâcon; nazi slogans, again, and two swastikas on the monument in Fleury-devant-Douaumont (Meuse) to the memory of Jewish soldiers killed at the battle of Verdun during the First World War.

The succession in only a few days of so many obnoxious deeds — as if some disturbed minds sought to outdo each other in ignominy — has of course rightly stirred up sentiments. But how many other acts of this nature in recent years went unnoticed or were only reported by the local press? How many "Carpentras" (1990) [desecration of 34 Jewish graves provoking public outcry and a massive demonstration] will it take for indignation to grow dull and for us to become accustomed to the unacceptable?

Of course, these acts were not committed in concert and their succession is a result of coincidence or of unhealthy competition. They may, in some cases, have been inspired by racism, a descent in to sectarianism and satanism or simple stupidity. It will fall to the investigators to establish and discern the share of hate ideology and stupidity. Still, beyond their differences, they are a monstrous indication of the dysfunctions of a society in disarray, lacking a common frame of reference and common values.

Insulting the dead is indeed a supreme transgression, one of the few remaining taboos in a time when, moreover, it is well looked-on to call them into question one by one.

Pre-historians tell us how important the first appearance of human sepulchers was, some 80,000 years ago: they meant that filial bonds were growing stronger, that social relations were becoming more complex, that the human being, at the very moment that he becomes aware of the ineluctability of his own death, feels a greater need to love and to remember that he has loved.

For the desecrators of our time, it is indeed this humanity, in the strongest sense of the word, that they seek to deny by insulting it.

We are aware of the fragility of social bonds, the doubts, fears and selfishness that undermine the fabric of the nation. We know that the feeling of hopelessness, of "social death," that touches the most vulnerable among our fellow citizens, those who are endangered by poverty. These feelings produce tensions, conflicts and revolt. But in my view nothing is weightier or more worrisome than when the refusal to "live together" concerns not only the living but the dead as well.

[...]

Of course, no mediation can answer aberrant, obnoxious or hateful behavior. No society is livable without authority, without laws and without the will to suppress unacceptable acts.

But let us at least try to see to it that some of our fellow citizens no longer feel abandoned and unheard. Let us not accept that the desire to understand and for debate should give way to the balance of power. This would be to vindicate somewhat those who view human relations only in terms of conflict, exclusion and intolerance.

May nothing human
Remain at the bottom of your tripes,
Not even respect
For the dead and for tombs!

Que rien d'humain
ne reste au fond de vos entrailles,
Pas même le respect
des morts et des tombeaux !

Those lines by Théodore de Banville (1823-1891) sum up so well the urgent task that lies before us all: to restore something human to hearts and to the relations at the center of our public, social and economic organizations.

Jean-Paul Delevoye is ombudsman for the Republic, former minister for public service, state reform and national and regional development.