France already has Europe's biggest Muslim population, and it is finding it hard to reconcile its model of integration, which relies on a strict separationofreligionandstate, with demands by French Muslims for religious expression within public institutions.
That is why Herod built both Jerusalem and Caesarea, "in effect giving the country two capitals and positing a separationofreligion from state, " Mr. Schwartz said.
One reason is their century-old secular tradition, which fiercely defends the separationof faith andstate, and makes most French people uneasy about conspicuous religion.