French municipality faces legal battle over displaying nativity scene
In December 2024, the town of Beaucaire was ordered to remove its nativity scene from the town hall by an administrative court, claiming its display violated secularism laws. Despite the ruling, the mayor refused to comply, resulting in further legal action and the threat of escalating fines. This marks the latest in a series of legal battles over Christian symbols in Beaucaire, which have been ongoing since 2016.
In December 2024, the commune of Beaucaire put up a nativity scene in the town hall. The civil association Ligue des droits de l'Homme (League for Human Rights) sued the municipality and the administrative court of Nîmes ordered scene to be removed by 23 December, with a penalty of 1,000 euros per day of delay. The court ruled that the Christian symbols 'cannot be considered to comply with the requirements of secularism and the neutrality of public figures'.
The mayor of the town, Nelson Chaudon, responded to the ruling by refusing to remove the nativity scene. The municipality also failed to comply with a second court order. The Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (LD) has now asked for a fine of 5,000 euros per day of delay following the two orders. A hearing took place on 5 February at the administrative court of Nîmes.
This is not the first time that the town of Beaucaire has been taken to court over the display of a nativity scene in the town hall. The display of this Christmas symbol has been the subject of legal action since 2016. In fact, the administrative court's decision refers to similar cases that have occurred in the same town almost every year since 2015. In 2016, OIDAC Europe had alreadyreported this case of intolerance towards Christian symbols.
Source: cnews.fr, frontieresmedia.fr
Image: Wikimedia Commons (by Véronique Pagnier)
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