Rassemblement National (RN) councillor Kevin Nader caused a stir in France by publicly reciting the Hail Mary prayer while holding a crucifix, after the communist mayor rejected his secularist proposal to ban religious symbols, including Islamic veils, in the council chamber.
A scene unfolded during a municipal council meeting in Ivry-sur-Seine on Thursday evening when Nader proposed an amendment to the council’s internal regulations to enforce strict secularism and prohibit visible religious signs for elected officials and attendees.
Several women wearing Islamic veils were present in the public gallery during the session.
The proposal was immediately rejected by the long-standing Communist mayor Philippe Bouyssou, whose municipality has been run by the French Communist Party for over 110 years.
After the amendment was voted down, Nader said, “Since you refuse to be placed under the sign of secularism in this municipal council […] We will be placed under the sign of the Cross.”
He stood up, produced a crucifix, and recited the full Hail Mary prayer aloud.
Mayor Bouyssou, visibly upset by the use of the Catholic symbol, reacted furiously, calling the act a “political crime” and immediately suspending the session.
“It’s a shame, a real scandal. In a few hours of council, you have reached all the heights and crossed all the red lines,” Bouyssou yelled, accusing Kevin Nader of having “stigmatised municipal councillors”.
“The Ivry municipal council has never been insulted in this way.”
He later referred the matter to the prefect of Val-de-Marne, accusing Nader of undermining republican values and attempting to provoke division.
Nader defended his action, stating that he was simply highlighting the mayor’s “two-tier secularism”.
He argued that allowing veiled women in the council while refusing to enforce neutrality amounted to anti-laïcité bias.
“Either secularism applies to everyone, or it applies to no one,” he said.
Ivry : un élu RN récite un «Je vous salue Marie» en conseil municipal face à la laïcité à géométrie variable du maire PCF
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