Town hall cannot have a nativity crèche, france’s highest court rules

DEBATES ABOUT NATIVITY SCENES AND FRANCE’S LAWS ON SECULARISM REGULARLY SURFACE EACH WINTER - AND THIS YEAR WILL BE NO EXCEPTION An appeal by a mairie in southern France that wished to show

a nativity scene in its town hall has been rejected by France’s highest court. The case dates to last Christmas when the mairie of Beaucaire in Gard put a nativity crèche on display between

December 3, 2020 and February 2, 2021 in its municipal building. It was ordered to dismantle the scene by Nîmes administrative court in compliance with France’s rules on laïcité

(secularism). Beaucaire’s mairie, led by a far-right mayor, appealed, arguing that the crèche presented “cultural, artistic and festive values” however the case was rejected. The mairie then

turned to France’s highest administrative body the Conseil d’État, arguing that the decision amounted to “discrimination”. However, the Conseil d’État ruled earlier this month that none of

the reasons put forward by the mairie justified keeping the nativity scene on display. _The Connexion_ explains the rules. NATIVITY SCENES ARE ALLOWED UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS It is

forbidden to display religious signs and symbols in most public spaces because of a 1905 law separating Church from state. This does not apply to churches, cemeteries, war memorials, museums

and exhibitions. However, Christmas nativity scenes became caught up in an ideological battle around 2010 after several mayors argued that they held more of a cultural - rather than

religious - significance. The polemic often involved mayors who tried to display crèches in local town halls or central squares and were told by judges to take them down. The Conseil d’État

acknowledged that nativity scenes are both a symbol of the birth of Jesus Christ and “an element that is part of decorations and illustrations around Christmas, without any religious

significance.” The installation of a nativity scene is deemed legal under certain conditions. These include instances in which they “represent a cultural, artistic or festive decoration”,

are “temporary”, “correspond to local heritage and tradition” and as long as their aim is not to convert people to Christianity. This essentially means that a nativity scene would be allowed

at a Christmas market, for example, but would be deemed inappropriate for an official public building. Several far-right Rassemblement National (RN) mayors have played on ambiguities within

the Conseil d’État’s decision and the party published a press release in 2015 arguing that _crèches_ within mairie buildings could not be related to France’s secular _laïcité_ rules. READ

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MESSAGE’ Christian Eyschen, general secretary of the Fédération nationale de la libre pensée, a not-for-profit federation of local associations concerned with free thought, told _The

Connexion_ that RN mayors systematically put crèches on display for two reasons. One aim is to appeal to the traditional Catholic voters within the electorate by appearing to defend

Christian values, he said. He also said that the move carries within it an underlying racist and xenophobic message, suggesting that France is Catholic only and that other religions and

cultures are not welcome. Mr Eyschen said that his association regularly launches legal action against Béziers’ far-right mayor Robert Ménard, who has been systematically displaying crèches

every year, resulting in a repeated cycle of legal action and appeals. “He wages these legal fights using taxpayer funds. It cannot go on,” he said. “They hope he will eventually get bored

with it, but he won’t.” Béziers plans to display a nativity crèche in its city hall from Friday until January 8, 2023. RELATED ARTICLES FRENCH WOMAN SAYS SHE WAS ‘TREATED LIKE CRIMINAL’

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