The first round of the French Presidential elections are scheduled for April 22. Just as in the U.S., economic issues appear to have become sidetracked in the election battles by church-state and religious freedom issues. This week, the Washington Post, Bloomberg News and Haaretz all report that the issue of halal and kosher slaughter of meat has become a central issue in the bitter election campaign. The furor began with a claim by right-wing National Front party leader Martine Le Pen that in slaughter houses around Paris, all meat is slaughtered according to halal rules and that millions of French people are eating halal meat without knowing it. Apparently that claim is accurate since the economics of the meat industry lead slaughter houses to use only one method of slaughter. Halal meat can be sold to general supermarkets as well as to Muslim consumers.
Sensing the appeal of the issue, President Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday called for labels on all meat describing whether or not the animals were stunned before slaughter. Neither halal nor kosher slaughter stuns animals. After Sarkozy's statetment, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said in a radio interview that "religions should reflect on dietary rules that don’t have much to do with the modern state of science, technology and sanitation." In the same vein, Interior Minister Claude Gueant warned against the Socialist Party's proposal to allow immigrants the right to vote in municipal elections. He said this would lead to Muslims forming majorities on local councils and their requiring halal meat in school cafeterias.
Prime Minister Fillon's remarks have particularly upset Muslim and Jewish leaders who have strongly criticized his statements. Fillon met yesterday with Jewish leaders where he said that nothing should put into question the continuation of ritual slaughter in France. Fillon will meet today with Muslim leaders.
