Church Attendance: France’s State Council Orders Review Of Limitation

France will have to review the restrictions it created for worship attendance to combat the spread of the coronavirus, according to the Western European nation’s highest court.

France’s State Council ordered the government on Sunday to review a law that limited church attendance to 30 in-person attendees in response to Catholic groups challenging the law.

The religious groups wanted the standard to be changed to allow 30% capacity for houses of worship, arguing that secular businesses are given looser standards during the lockdown.

On Oct. 30, in response to a new wave of COVID-19 infections, France instituted a national lockdown whose restrictions began to be eased this past weekend.

French Catholic bishops took issue with the 30-person limit for worship, releasing a statement last week saying that they were “disappointed and surprised” by the restriction.