French court decides to take down Virgin Mary statue

A court has given the town of Publier three months to remove its statue of the Virgin Mary to comply with a national ban on religious symbols in public spaces, reports BBC.

If it fails to do so, it will be fined €100 (£80; $105) a day. Mayor Gaston Lacroix said he will try to relocate the marble statue on private land.

The image of the mother of Jesus has been standing on the shores of Lake Geneva since 2011. It has been the subject of local controversy for some years after it was paid for with municipal funds.

The decision to remove the statue has been criticised on social media, with some wondering whether freedom of expression had been curbed.

Publier is a city in the department of Haute-Savoie, in eastern France.