Pork Soup is Not Racist in France

Wed, Jan 3, 2007 at 6:16:07 pm PST

I hope you’re sitting down, because a French court has ruled that pork soup is not racist.

PARIS (Reuters) - A French court ruled Tuesday that an organization with far-right links can continue offering pork soup to the homeless, rejecting police complaints that the food distribution was racist.

Police banned the soup kitchen last month, arguing that the handouts discriminated against Jews and Muslims who do not eat pork on religious grounds.

The administrative court said the distribution was “clearly discriminatory,” but could not be stopped because the organizers offered to feed anyone who asked for help.

The mayor of Paris condemned the ruling and urged the police to appeal the ruling.

“Faced by this initiative which stinks of xenophobia, I want once again to express city hall’s desire to fight all forms of discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism,” mayor Bertrand Delanoe said in a statement.