Jacob Bojesson, DCNF
A court has ordered a town in eastern France to remove a statue of the Virgin Mary or face a fine of 100 euros ($106) per day.
An administrative court has given the town of Publier three months to get rid of the statue in accordance with a nationwide ban on religious symbols in public spaces.
The statue has been standing on the shores of Lake Geneva since 2011, when the municipal government used public funds to put it up on state-owned land.
Publier subsequently sold the statue to a Roman Catholic association to get around the law. The organization was still not able to acquire the land, which made the statue illegal.
Publier Mayor Gaston Lacroix said he would try to relocate it to private land Saturday.
Critics have called the ruling a threat to “freedom of expression” and the start of “a new tyranny.”
France is one of the world’s most secular countries with a strong separation between religion and public life. It became the first European country to ban the burqa in 2010, and several other nations have since followed suit.
Several French communities banned the burkini, a full-body swimsuit sometimes worn by Muslim women, over the summer. A court later struck down the bans as unconstitutional.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- The Florida candidate laser-focused on eradicating horrific animal crimes - March 22, 2024
- Sabo: ‘Rush was our GOAT, there was no equal and he made it look easy’ - February 18, 2024
- Dana Bash appears to want to crawl out of her own skin when Ramaswamy ‘goes there’ on J6 - December 7, 2023
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
