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French flag tribute to Pope sparks left-wing anger
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| Contributor | None Entered |
| Last Edited | None Entered Apr 04, 2005 05:05pm |
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| Category | Scandal |
| News Date | Monday, April 4, 2005 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Politicians in secular France squabbled over whether the government had been right to order flags lowered on public buildings in a sign of respect for Pope John Paul.
Socialist senator Jean-Luc Melenchon and Yves Contassot, a senior Green party member on the Paris City Council, said the government had abused its powers on Monday by ordering the official tribute to the Pope, who died on Saturday.
The Unsa union said the government was guilty of double standards having ordered schools to take part in the tribute to a religious leader after banning Muslim headscarves in state schools in a drive to keep them firmly secular.
"Let the Christians pay tribute to the head of their church, it's a private matter," Contassot told France Inter radio.
"Today, we have a government and a head of state who, clearly, for political reasons, are trying to take advantage of an issue that is a private matter," he said.
Lowering of flags on all state buildings was "totally out of place and at the limit of legality." |
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