Conseil d’État orders easing of French ban on public worship

Decree No. 2020-548 issued on May 11, 2020, by the Prime Minister set out the general measures necessary to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic in France. Article 10-III provides that during the period of confinement, all gatherings or meetings within places of worship are prohibited with the exception of funeral ceremonies – which are limited to twenty people

In a judgment on 18 May, MW et autres (Nos 440366 et suivants) [link here], the judge of urgent summary applications [juge des référés] of the French Conseil d’État has ordered the French Government to lift the absolute blanket ban on assembling in places of worship and to substitute measures strictly proportionate to the health risks and appropriate at the beginning of easing the lockdown [déconfinement]. Continue reading