French court upholds banning of religious symbols in municipal council

A French court has upheld a mayor’s ban of conspicuous religious symbols in a municipal council after it was challenged by two elected officials.

The administrative court in Dijon found on Wednesday that the decree of Gilles Platret, mayor of the town Chalon-sur-Saône, banning “conspicuous religious signs” did not constitute “a serious and manifestly unlawful infringement of freedom of conscience.”

“The freedom of conscience of an elected member of a municipal council must be reconciled with the principle of secularism [Fr. laïcité] that he is required to respect,” the judge added.

Damien Saley and Lamia Sabrina Sari, both elected officials of radical left-wing group La France Insoumise (LFI), had filed a lawsuit against Platret’s ban, saying they felt “directly targeted” by the decree. Sabrina Sari wears an Islamic headscarf.

Platret said the court’s finding was “a source of satisfaction” and that it was “an example that could be followed by all municipal councils.”

He said the ban makes sure “secularism cannot be attacked by elected officials who come to the municipal council to proselytize, in disregard of the principle of neutrality.”

The decree was issued Jan. 14 and was based on the 2018 National Assembly regulations that bans “conspicious” religious