Traditional nativity scene banned from local council in France

Seems France 'Surrendered' again last time it happened the above 'Christmas' song was popular.

Traditional nativity scene banned from local council in France.(TheLocal).

Nantes’s administrative court ruled on Tuesday that the traditional Christmas scene of Baby Jesus in a manger surrounded by cattle and shepherds does not stand in line with France’s 1905 law on the Separation of the Churches and the State.

The court ruled this week that the traditional nativity scene or crib must be removed from the entrance to the Vendée's council building in La Roche-sur-Yon, where it has stood each Christmas for years.

"It undermined the neutrality of public service" ruled the court.

“A nativity scene is a religious symbol, representing a specific religion,” said Jean Regourd, President of the Free Thinking Association of France’s Vendée department, the organisation that had complained about the crib.

“In theory it doesn’t respect the law of neutrality of public buildings nor of the State, and it doesn’t respect the freedom of conscience of a citizen who sees a religious emblem imposed on them when going into Vendée’s departmental council," he said.

The row comes at the same as an activist group called Collectif Anonym wrecked a nativity scene in the centre of Brussels, spurring a debate in both Belgium and France over whether this Christmas tradition should be outlawed.Read the full story here.