Ciotti tweeted this image, with the comment: “Magnificent crib in the hall of the Alpes-Maritimes département [local government office], to keep our traditions alive. Let’s be proud of our roots!”

Magnifique crèche dans le hall du Département des Alpes-Maritimes, pour faire vivre nos traditions.

Soyons fiers de nos racines ! pic.twitter.com/iE1t5tuV0d

— Eric Ciotti (@ECiotti) December 10, 2022

What are we talking about?

This is the traditional Christmas crib or nativity scene – a model of the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was born, usually showing Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, some animals and often shepherds and wise men/kings. 

Are these banned in France?

Absolutely not, you will see them all over the country in the run-up to Christmas, from life-size ones in public spaces to little models on sale in shops to display in your home.

Some towns even do a ‘live’ nativity with real animals (sheep, donkeys etc) in a pen around the crib, and in parts of south-west France you will see the fun Catalan addition to the nativity scene – the Crapper.

So why are politicians talking about them?

There are some restrictions on displaying a crib, and they are to do with France’s laïcité (secularism) rules.

You can read a full explanation of what laïcité really means HERE, but the broad principle is that no religious displays are allowed in State buildings – which includes schools, town halls and government offices.

This is the same principle that bars Muslim women from wearing headscarfs (hijab) in such public buildings (with the exception of visitors) and State employees such as police officers and civil servants from wearing religious clothing such as a hijab or kippah while on duty.

And the crucial thing about laïcité is that it applies to all religions, which means that a Christmas crib (a religious display celebrating the Christian festival) is not allowed in State buildings such as the town hall or schools.

If you have kids in French schools, you’ll notice that there are no Nativity plays at this time of year, for the same reason.

Cribs are allowed, however, in outdoor spaces such as the town square, in private businesses such as supermarkets or other shops, cafés etc and of course in private homes and in churches.

Have these rules changed recently?

No, laïcité has been part of the legal code since 1905, but the Christmas cribs rows come round fairly regularly.

Usually they are the territory of the far-right, and there have been multiple cases over the years of far-right mayors setting up a Christmas crib in their town hall, and trying to create headlines through their ‘defiance’ of the laïcité rules and references to France as a ‘Christian country’.

This time it is Ciotti, who has just been elected leader of the Les Républicains. The party (that of presidents Charles de Gaulle, Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy) is traditionally described as centre-right, but Ciotti himself is much closer to Marine Le Pen and the far-right Rassemblement National in his views on immigration, identity and Islam.

His tweet refers to the crib as ‘living our traditions . . being proud of our roots’.

Of course, laïcité is one of France’s most well-known traditions and dates back over 100 years. But another tradition that’s almost as old is politicians pretending to misunderstand laïcité rules in order to score political points.