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Italian media noted the irony of the ruling, remarking that the cross-removal is not taking place “in Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State in Syria, but in Brittany, in the heart of Western Europe.
>The French administrative court has ordered the removal of a cross from a monument to Saint John Paul II in a public square in the northwest of France, saying it violates the secular nature of the state.
>Italian media noted the irony of the ruling, remarking that the cross-removal is not taking place “in Raqqa, the capital of the Religion of Cuck™ic State in Syria, but in Brittany, in the heart of Western Europe.”
>The Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest administrative court, ruled last week that the statue of the Polish Pope in Ploërmel, Brittany, could remain but the large cross above the monument must be eliminated.
>“Since the cross is a religious sign or emblem within the meaning of Article 28 of the Law of 9 December 1905 and its installation by the municipality does not fall into any of the exceptions provided by this article, its presence in a public location is contrary to this law,” argued the French court.
>The law of 1905, which separates Church and State, forbids “raising or affixing any symbol or religious emblem on public monuments or in any public place,” with the exception of museums, cemeteries and places of worship.
>The 25-foot high monument was donated to mayor Paul Anselin by Russian artist Zurab Tsereteli in 2006 and erected in a town square. The sculpture depicts Pope John Paul standing in prayer with his hands clasped, with a simple arch above him, surmounted by a cross.
>In 2015, the Rennes tribunal had already ordered the removal of the entire statue but upon appeal, the high court allowed the statue to remain, provided the offending cross disappears.
>The city of Ploërmel now has six months to eliminate the cross, and must pay €3000 to the National Federation of Free Thought (Fédération nationale de la libre-pensée), which has been leading the legal battle to have the statue removed since 2015.