Thumper
01-26-2006, 11:13 AM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4644766.stm
Charity groups with far-right links serving pork soup to homeless people face a crackdown by French officials.
Protesters have accused the groups of deliberate discrimination against Jews and Muslims, who do not eat the meat.
Strasbourg officials have banned the hand-outs and police in Paris have closed soup kitchens in an effort to avert racial tension.
The charities have defended offering what they call traditional cuisine to French and European homeless people.
The groups, operating in cities across France and neighbouring Belgium, are not formally linked but are associated with a small far-right organisation called Bloc Identitaire.
'Racial tensions'
Identity Soup, as it has been dubbed by its chefs, was banned in Strasbourg this month after officials ruled it could lead to public disorder.
"Schemes with racial subtexts must be denounced," Strasbourg's mayor Fabienne Keller said.
Although no ban exists in Paris, police have closed soup kitchens in the capital's Montparnasse and Gare de l'Est train stations on administrative grounds.
Volunteers were ordered to re-seal soup containers on the basis they did not have the necessary permits to distribute food.
Charity groups with far-right links serving pork soup to homeless people face a crackdown by French officials.
Protesters have accused the groups of deliberate discrimination against Jews and Muslims, who do not eat the meat.
Strasbourg officials have banned the hand-outs and police in Paris have closed soup kitchens in an effort to avert racial tension.
The charities have defended offering what they call traditional cuisine to French and European homeless people.
The groups, operating in cities across France and neighbouring Belgium, are not formally linked but are associated with a small far-right organisation called Bloc Identitaire.
'Racial tensions'
Identity Soup, as it has been dubbed by its chefs, was banned in Strasbourg this month after officials ruled it could lead to public disorder.
"Schemes with racial subtexts must be denounced," Strasbourg's mayor Fabienne Keller said.
Although no ban exists in Paris, police have closed soup kitchens in the capital's Montparnasse and Gare de l'Est train stations on administrative grounds.
Volunteers were ordered to re-seal soup containers on the basis they did not have the necessary permits to distribute food.