French Freemasons target Catholic schools in proposal to end private education

(LifeSiteNews) — The head of a French Masonic lodge, who has credited freemasons with French policies such as its new euthanasia law, announced plans to target independent Catholic schools in the country.

Guillaume Trichard, re-elected grand master of the Grand Orient de France (GODF), told Le Figaro on August 28 that his lodge intends to influence the 2027 presidential race, beginning with plans to publish “a white paper on the school of the Republic, with numerous proposals.”

Trichard took aim at schools that operate without a government contract, known as “non-contract schools,” stating that they “have no place in the Republic,” the National Catholic Register reported. Non-contract schools do not receive regular government funding and therefore enjoy greater autonomy, although they are still subject to government inspection and must meet certain basic educational requirements.

While the majority of such non-contract schools are not religiously affiliated, a reportedly “large number” are Catholic and often traditionalist.

Asked by Le Figaro what he wanted to see in the 2027 presidential candidates’ education proposals, Trichard responded, “The Grand Orient de France is an ardent promoter of free, secular public education.” 

“Everyone knows the role Freemasons played in the Jules Ferry laws (the 1881-1882 laws that made French primary education free, secular, and compulsory), but I believe non-contract private schools have no place in the Republic” he said. 

“Because ‘non-contract’ means there is no contract with the indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic, which can open the door to significant abuses.”

The Masonic leader added that by 2027 the Grand Orient de France will publish a wider manifesto presenting “our hopes for France, Europe, the world” on issues from public policy to artificial intelligence. “We hope the (presidential) candidates will draw on these forthcoming proposals in their platforms and their arguments,” he said.

The Grand Orient de France has already made a serious attempt to shut down Catholic education. In July 2025, the lodge joined 23 other secular and Masonic organizations in signing a joint statement against the opening of the Académie Saint-Louis de Chalès, an all-boys Catholic boarding school backed by Catholic billionaire Pierre-Édouard Stérin. The statement accused the school’s Catholic “integral education” model of indoctrination, and of violating the “republican consensus” on co-education, in which boys and girls are taught together. Their “petition” was unsuccessful.

Columnist Gabrielle Cluzel stated on the news site Boulevard Voltaire that she believes freemasons are targeting non-contract schools because “they are essentially denominational — that is, Catholic.” She called non-contract schools “the untouched control sample, kept safe from the great apprentice-sorcerer pedagogical experiment” of the national school system. 

Only about one in six of France’s 2,557 non-contract schools (counted in the 2025-2026 school year) are Catholic, but they include many of the most robustly Catholic institutions, including dozens tied to traditional orders, including the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) and the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX).

Freemasonry in France has a long, documented history of opposition to Catholicism, stemming from freemasonry’s constitutional hatred of the religion. For example, in the “Fiches” affair (1904-1905), Grand Orient lodges in France gave the War Ministry intelligence about military officers’ Mass attendance and their children’s religious education. The files were used to hinder the promotion of those deemed strongly Catholic or monarchist.

Antipathy toward traditional, independent Catholic schools and institutions in France is demonstrated by other government, military and educational arms in the country. It was reported this summer that students from traditional Catholic schools in France were barred from entry into military high schools, prompting legal challenges alleging discrimination.

Grand Master Trichard told Le Figaro that France’s new pro-euthanasia law shows that positions supported by the Grand Orient de France eventually become legalized.

“The law’s promulgation on Aug. 18 didn’t come out of nowhere,” he said. “Look at how far we’ve come.”