Apr 25, 2016

The mayor of Nice secured a green light Monday to sue the French state in a bid to block the opening of a Saudi-funded mosque in the southern city.

He has accused the building's owner, Saudi Arabia's Islamic Affairs Minister Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz, of "advocating sharia" and wanting to "destroy all of the churches on the Arabian peninsula".

"Our intelligence services are worried about this place of worship," said the mayor, who represents France's centre-right The Republicans party, warning against "unregulated foreign funding".

Estrosi received approval Monday from the council in the south coast city to take the central government's regional representative -- Prefect Adolphe Colrat -- to court over the issue.

Estrosi, mayor since 2008, said that the project which was initiated under his predecessor in 2002 was unauthorised.