Re "what France needs right now": a "French Blairite"?! Well, seeing that "capitalism poisons everything," we should be able to do better than that, in France and elsewhere. On the other hand it's painful to observe the deplorable moral deterioration of what passes for "left" and "liberal" nowadays. We on the left still try to defend what needs defending, most of the time, which is good; but as for finding beyond that a much-needed transcendent vision, no, the wells of inspiration have dried up.

Re Macron's baptism, etc.: The whole concept suggested by the title, "Catholic divisions," surprises me, because the impression I had got, of France and western Europe generally, was that Catholic identity has long been associated exclusively with right-wing politics, and all that varies is how far right the particular Catholic stands. No one recognizes the existence of a "liberal Catholicism." And that's probably the church's fault, for always being friendly with the rich and powerful.