A statue of Saint Michael will be removed in France for being against secularism
The Nantes Administrative Court of Appeal has confirmed that the statue of Les Sables-d'Olonne will be unbolted in the name of the separation of Church and State.
The Nantes Administrative Court of Appeal confirmed on Friday that the presence of a statue of the Archangel Michael, a "religious emblem", in a public square in Sables-d'Olonne (Vendée) was prohibited by law and should be removed. The installation of a statue of the Archangel Michael "on a public site is prohibited by article 28 of the law of December 9, 1905 concerning the separation of Churches and the State", estimates in its judgment the administrative jurisdiction of appeal, confirming the first instance judgment of December 16, 2021.
The court "found that the character of Saint Michael, leader of the celestial militia of the angels of Good, is part of Christian iconography and therefore has a religious character", thus rejecting the arguments of the Vendée municipality according to which this statue has “a cultural, historical, traditional, artistic and festive character”.
The court ordered the municipality of Sables-d'Olonne to remove “this statue from the municipal public domain within six months of notification of the judgment”.
