A number of associations have appealed to the Conseil d'État against a religious ceremony held at the Élysée Palace last December. The Conseil d'État ruled that although a candle had been lit and a song sung during the presentation of an award to the President of the Republic, no decision had been taken to authorise the holding of a religious ceremony. In the absence of a decision that could be challenged before the administrative courts, the Conseil d'État dismissed the appeal.
At a reception at the Élysée Palace on 7 December 2023, during which The Conference of European Rabbis awarded the “Lord Jakobovits Prize” to French President Emmanuel Macron, the Chief Rabbi of France lit a candle and part of the audience sang a hymn in Hebrew. The Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (human rights league), the Association des Libres Penseurs de France (association of free thinkers in France) and a private individual, applied to the Conseil d'État to annul the President of the Republic's decision authorising a religious ceremony at the Élysée Palace. The Conseil d'État today ruled that there was no evidence that such an authorising decision exists, and that the applicants cannot therefore seek its annulment before the administrative court.
For this reason, the Conseil d'État dismissed the appeal lodged by the associations and the private individual.
Read the decision (in French)