Marine Le Pen – the leader of the French National Front (FN), and winner of the French EU election – has declared that schools in the 11 towns won by her party in the recent local elections will no longer be offering alternatives to pork to Jewish and Muslim children. Such “pandering”, she said, was contrary to France’s secular values. “We will accept no religious requirements in the school lunch menus,” she told RTL radio. “There is no reason for religion to enter into the public sphere.” France is home to five million Muslims, the biggest population in Europe. (The Week, April 9th)

There are all sorts of people whom one could object to. Personally, I object to bosses who earn $10 million a year and pay their workers minimum wage. But a lot of people, wedded to the wonder of modern capitalism, would, perhaps, call me intolerant. Refusing to eat pork does not seem to rise to a level that needs political intervention. It originated in the heat of the middle East for good practical reasons, like the veil, and the moslem ban does seem a bit silly in north-eastern France. But who cares, if that is what the minority want.