It is one of those oddities of "laïcité" in France that representations of the nativity in cribs are banned in public buildings. Our Christian heritage means that often we accept some representations without assigning too much meaning to them. A crib with shepherds, sheep and oxen, a crude representation of a baby and parents is often no more religious in our mind than a Christmas tree - perhaps to our shame.
Now France's highest administrative court has ruled that cribs may be in public buildings provided that they are in a "cultural, artistic or festive" setting and not a purely proselytising context. The court overturned various local judgements either allowing or refusing cribs, ruling that the context was all important.
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