Paris
No blocking traffic: Praying in the streets of Paris is now against the law. For months, hundreds of Muslims who couldn’t find a mosque to pray in blocked several streets in Paris each Friday, kneeling and bowing in unison on the pavement. Last year, far-right leader Marine Le Pen called for a ban on the practice, saying it amounted to a foreign “invasion” just like the Nazi occupation of Paris in World War II. This week, she got her wish when the city struck a deal with Muslim leaders: No more worshipping in the streets, but Muslims may use an empty firehouse as a prayer site. “Praying in the street is not dignified for religious practice and violates the principles of secularism,” said Interior Minister Claude Guéant. “All Muslim leaders are in agreement.”
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