Manon Aubry, hard-left MEP for La France Insoumise (LFI), has taken aim at the nativity scene under Christmas trees in Brussels in her Christmas message to her supporters.
According to the politician, there are nativity scenes in Brussels “financed by the Right” and she claimed that went against the French concept of secularism (laïcité) – the separation between Church and State.
At the start of her 30-minute talk, Aubry said: “In Brussels, the entire Right financed nativity scenes, so the concept of secularism is applied somewhat inconsistently in Europe. Luckily, we don’t have them in Strasbourg.” She was referring to the European Parliament building in that city, which she said she regarded as rather dull.
Manon Aubry se plaint qu'au Parlement européen de Bruxelles il y aurait des crèches de Noël (financées par "la droite") mais fait sa vidéo devant un sapin de Noël à Strasbourg. Qui lui explique qu'à Noël, on fête la naissance de Jésus ? ? ? pic.twitter.com/fGcfLqdiLs
— Outofnone (@Outofnone1) December 19, 2024
She went on to speak about a number of issues that did little to evoke the spirit of Christmas.
She derided French hard-right National Rally MP Julien Odoul MP as “a sexist” and his party as “misogynist and violent” before turning her attention to Prime Minister François Bayrou and the situation in the cyclone-devastated French island of Mayotte.
Many people responded to her video on social media, pointing out that Christmas was a religious feast day celebrating the birth of Jesus and was a Christian tradition deeply rooted in Western culture.
Brussels Signal reached out to Aubry to ask what nativity scenes in Brussels were paid for by “the Right” but she had not responded as of writing.
The use of the nativity scene in the European Parliament is rather new, only in place since 2022, because of Spanish MEP Isabel Benjumea, who is a Catholic and wanted to highlight the Christian roots of Europe.
Earlier Leïla Chaibi, a fellow LFI MEP, explained this in a video, highlighting that this happened with leftovers from the budget and adding that it was forbidden in France to show religious symbols.
In France, the Left has historically been vocal about secularism, essentially to push back against the perceived influence of the Catholic Church.
In recent years, there has been a shift in this stance with Aubry’s LFI, for example, being much more supportive of public expression of religious convictions.
LFI has criticised the French Government’s anti-separatism law, which was aimed at combating what the administration termed “Islamic separatism”. Party president Jean-Luc Mélenchon described it as “anti-Muslim” and “anti-Republican”. He argued that it infringed the freedoms of Muslims in France by imposing restrictions on religious associations and activities.
The party also protested against a ban on wearing abayas in schools, a robe-like dress covering the entire body, worn by some Muslim women.
In the European Parliament elections in June, 62 per cent of Muslim voters who participated opted for LFI. In the presidential elections, two years earlier, 69 per cent of Muslim voters supported Mélenchon.
