he grand French Republican motto ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’ is known to all, and in a judgment imbued with the ideals of justice and fairness, the Conseil has not only recognised, for the first time, the constitutional status of the third precept, i.e. fraternity; it has also fleshed out its meaning, making it akin to solidarity by narrowing down, in essence, the scope of the offence that consists of facilitating the illegal entry, circulation and residence of immigrants on the national territory – an offence better known by the somewhat disturbing label used by human rights activists, namely the ‘offence of solidarity’ (délit de solidarité). In so doing, and despite the limited practical reach of its judgment, the Conseil constitutionnel has fostered interpersonal solidarity in a context of strained interstate solidarity.