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Defending — some say mandating — pork is not specifically an argument about French purity. Sanchez’s forebears were Spaniards; Van Gogh, now much admired, moved to neighbouring Arles from the Netherlands via Paris. The mayor says his push is about religion. His critics say it is about Islam.

My decision is so that the Republic wins, that in France the Republic has priority and not religion

“My decision is so that the Republic wins, that in France the Republic has priority and not religion,” Sanchez said in an interview at Beaucaire’s town hall, the entry of which featured a giant nativity display illuminated with twinkle lights even at midday. “I defend the principles of France. If sharia law is installed in France tomorrow, then there’s no problem if it’s the law. For now, the Republic is secular, and I don’t know why pork should be a problem. If you don’t want it, don’t eat it.”

For Muslim leaders, this is little more than a thinly veiled attack.

“I went to French public schools, and we never had this issue,” said Yasser Louati, a prominent French civil liberties advocate and Muslim community organizer. “This is nothing more than a dog whistle, of saying things without actually having to say them. We know which community is targeted.”

Sanchez, rejecting allegations that requiring pork targets particular minority groups, said, “I’m not stigmatizing anyone. The people who don’t eat pork are welcome to come into the cafeteria. They just choose not to eat it.”

What students eat at school has become nothing less than an existential debate in France, where the state is officially neutral and, by consequence, public space is meant to be free of religious influence.