French republicanism is founded on

French republicanism is founded on three universalist principles:
liberté, égalité, and fraternité (Laborde, 2001). Liberté
(freedom) refers to citizens’ ability to exercise individual authority.
Citizens should be able to critically assess their cultural attachments
which come from the exercise of free choice, not a coercive
heritage. Cultural attachments should remain private, and undisclosed
in the public sphere. Through this process, égalité (equality)
is achieved since personal or group attributes are ‘invisible’. Fraternité
(brotherhood) becomes possible as private interests and
attachments are put aside, allowing citizens to work cooperatively
for the common good. Finally, laïcité, loosely referred to as political
and legal secularism (Roy, 2007), solidifies these three republican
ideals.