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The law of 1905 on the separation of Church and State was passed after more than a century of civil conflict between the “two Frances” (Republican and Catholic-monarchist). While having put an end to the regime of recognized cults subsidized by the state, this law guaranteed freedom of conscience, the free exercise of cults and church self-organisation. Threading a fine balance between opposing forces, the law of 1905 was not to the full satisfaction of any party, and it is in this sense that it is a convivial law. One century later, the law is highly consensual. Yet claims for a “new laïcité” have emerged since 2003, in contradiction with the law of 1905, according to public law professor Pierre-Henri Prélot.