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Over 80 people have died, murdered as they were celebrating a day dedicated to the republican values of freedom, equality and fraternity. Yet for all that, and it feels horrible even to think the thought, are we still capable of even being surprised by such attacks? The Charlie Hebdo massacre was only 18 months ago, the Bataclan attacks only about eight. France is going to remain in a state of emergency that has now lasted for months. Yet nothing seems to have changed.

After each attack the security services and beefed up. After each atrocity gallons of ink are spilt about whether it is time to rethink laïcité (the famous French model of secularism) or the nature of Republic French values. Debate rages over life chances in the banlieues and the impact of that on crime (just as it did after the 2005 riots and so on and so on), and the question of how France can integrate its significant North African population most effectively. French Islam will be under the microscope once again, and no doubt so too will be calls for more proactive intervention against the Islamic State (whether or not they were actually involved).

But as for real change to have come from these tragedies? It seems like the increasing militarization of public spaces, with more and more armed police and soldiers, has been the only meaningful consequence. The lack of change, or at least the sense of a French state finding a way forward, creates a collective hopelessness and a helplessness. Tragedy fatigue is real; the more tragedies that occur without prompting a change the less willpower there will be to create something. There is a remarkable capacity to accept even the most appalling situations as normal.

This is the moment to call for a new approach to French society and secularism. It is now, surely, clear to anyone with eyes to see that the hopes of creating a purely civil identity in which religion and race are irrelevant have failed. It is time the French state begins recording data on the religion of its citizens, so that it can see how trends are emerging and be responsive to the reality on the streets, not just vague assumptions and prejudices.

It’s time to question again whether aspects of laïcité that seem to disproportionately hurt minority faiths (and especially Islam) are a sensible approach to pluralism and to remove those aspects that are doing more harm than good at fostering integration. Schools need the freedom to address religious and identity issues in the classroom. It’s time to stop pretending that Frenchness can sweep these issues under the carpet and start “doing religion”, not just opposing extremism. 

Ben Ryan is Researcher at Theos | @BenedictWRyan

Image by Nathan Hughes Hamilton from flickr available under this Creative Commons licence