In a meeting with French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin on Tuesday 11 January, the president of the Federation of Protestant Churches, Jean-Arnold de Clermont, deplored a whole series of administrative obstacles and forms of discrimination to which the Protestant Churches are being subjected. The administrative difficulties lamented by the pastor especially relate to the building of new churches and the granting of tax certificates. De Clermont drew the attention of the prime minister to a series of specific examples. In some areas, the Protestant Churches have been refused permission to issue tax certificates relating to gifts received. Elsewhere, some religious associations have been refused building amnesties and some civic authorities have rejected applications for the construction of Protestant churches, declaring that “there’s not enough parking space for the congregation”. The President of the Protestant Federation also denounced difficulties in terms of insurance; some insurance companies have rescinded their contracts with some religious associations. “These seem to us said pastor de Clermont at the end of his meeting with Raffarin extremely grave acts”. The French Prime Minister “listened with attention” and gave assurances that he would give the competent ministers “the necessary instructions to put a stop to these forms of discrimination”. For its part, the Federation issued a communiqué, expressing the “hope for an annual interministerial meeting” that would permit many problems to be solved and help promote agreement between the various social partners involved in such questions.
