The French shall eat as one, says Marine Le Pen

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...n-schools.html

France's Le Pen: ban non-pork meals in schools

Leader of France's surging party says schools should not pander to Jewish and Muslim children by offering non-Pork alternatives for lunch

Marine Le Pen, leader of the Front National

School canteens will no longer offer non-pork meal options in towns where France's pro-controlled immigration, Front National (FN) party won local elections, its leader Marine Le Pen has said.

Mrs Le Pen reignited debate on a sensitive issue about the substitution meals for Muslim and Jewish pupils for whom pork is taboo.

"We will accept no religious requirements in the school lunch menus," Mrs Le Pen told RTL radio. "There is no reason for religion to enter into the public sphere."

She defended the decision saying it was necessary to "save secularism".

The FN, which has been polling equally with the main two parties, won control of 11 towns and more than 1,400 municipal seats nationwide in recent local elections, easily its best ever performance at the grassroots level of French government.

This has caused great unease among a section of the population.

Many Muslims view France, which is officially a secular republic despite being overwhelmingly Catholic, as imposing its values on them and other religious minorities.

France has one of the biggest Muslim populations in Europe.

The issue of halal meat is also a controversial topic in France and has been used as a political football.

Mrs Le Pen had launched a fierce row before the last presidential polls in 2012 by claiming that all meat distributed in the Paris region was halal, or slaughtered according to Islamic law, and that non-Muslim consumers were being misled.

There has been controversy in the past over whether schools and holiday camps should be required to provide halal food for Muslim children, as well as higher-profile disputes over the wearing of veils in France.

Any form of clothing linked to religious observance is banned from French state schools and since 2011 the wearing of full-face veils in public has been outlawed.

I have to say that I agree with her 100%.

When minorities come to this country or any other European country, they should be under nothing else than the impression that while they are welcome to contribute and become a part of us: that integration is a one way street. You move to France? You adopt or at least abide by French customs and traditions and thereby become French in time. You come to Britain? Fine, but you adopt and abide by British customs and traditions and thereby become British in time. The majority should not be forced to pander to a minority.

One comment on another article on this had it exactly right, they recall going to school a few decades ago here in Britain and some Jewish kids went to the school. On the days that pork was on the menu, the Jewish kids simply brought in a packed lunch. And that is the way it should be done - the menu for the majority shouldn't be changed for a minority and the minority should accomodate itself to the majority.

Also the article headline and title twist what she means - she doesn't mean ban EVERYTHING that isn't pork and have everyone eating pork 24/7 for the sake of it, what she means is that say the school is serving pork on the thursday then the school shouldn't have to go out of it's way to pander to other students of other religions. It seems pretty fair to me.

Thoughts?

[karter]

When minorities come to this country or any other European country

so this doesn't apply to any other non-european country why

[-:Undertaker:-]

so this doesn't apply to any other non-european country why

Oh every other country too, absolutely. I mention European countries mainly though as that's the political context I am talking about, as well as the fact that it seems to be European nations that are the ones which have to bend over backwards to please minorities.

[The Don]

the menu for the majority shouldn't be changed for a minority and the minority should accomodate itself to the majority.

Like smoking in public places, right?

[-:Undertaker:-]

Like smoking in public places, right?

Smoking in public places is on private property, not state property like a school.

And secondly, the taxpayer isn't paying to have people smoke. The state in this case however is paying for alternative meals to be provided.

Non sequitur my friend.

[Chippiewill]

And secondly, the taxpayer isn't paying to have people smoke.

They are paying to treat.

[-:Undertaker:-]

They are paying to treat.

Smokers pay in more than they take out of the NHS, nice try though.

Do we have any more stupid comparisons with smoking that I have to debunk?

Or should I explain property rights again?

[GommeInc]

They could just offer two menus, although back when common sense existed if you liked something you just made your own.

[Chippiewill]

Smokers pay in more than they take out of the NHS, nice try though.

Muslims taxpayers pay in more than enough to cover the cost of a non-pork meal.

[-:Undertaker:-]

They could just offer two menus, although back when common sense existed if you liked something you just made your own.

That costs money though, which I think is the main reason the Front National have done this.

I would have quite liked curry & curly chips everyday at school, but hey I had to make do. As you say - don't like the menu? Bring your own stuff.

Muslims taxpayers pay in more than enough to cover the cost of a non-pork meal.

That's a non-comparison again, you've gone so far off topic that I can see Pluto from here. If we worked on that premise, then we'd simply remove subsidies from school meals (something I would actually support) and make everyone pay seperate... but that still wouldn't gurantee that everybody got the meal of their choice because of the simple fact that schools have to buy things in bulk and cook it in bulk.

If the school is going out of it's way to provide portions specifically for a minority of children then it's therefore costing more per child than everybody else because it's not being bought in bulk quantities or cooked together, meaning higher costs for a smaller % of kids.

The idea that the taxpayer should be paying so that a few Jewish or Muslim kids in the school can have it their way is ridiculous and French voters agree with me. The question is this: do the majority of the French pander and change their customs (or pay more) for a minority?