France
See also: Jehovah's Witnesses and governments (France)Prior to World War II, the French government banned the Association of Jehovah's Witnesses in France, and ordered that the French offices of the Watch Tower Society be vacated. After the war, Jehovah's Witnesses in France renewed their operations. In December 1952, France's Minister of the Interior banned The Watchtower magazine, citing its position on military service. The ban was lifted on November 26, 1974.
In the 1990s and 2000s, the French government included Jehovah's Witnesses on its list of "cults", and governmental ministers made derogatory public statements about Jehovah's Witnesses. Despite its century of activity in the country, France's Ministry of Finance opposed official recognition of the religion; it was not until June 23, 2000 that France's highest administrative court, the Council of State, ruled that Jehovah's Witnesses qualify as a religion under French law. France's Ministry of the Interior sought to collect 60% of donations made to the religion's entities; Witnesses called the taxation "confiscatory" and appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. On June 30, 2011, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that France’s actions violated the religious freedom of Jehovah’s Witnesses by demanding 58 million euros in taxes.
Jehovah's Witnesses in France have reported hundreds of criminal attacks against their adherents and places of worship.
Read more about this topic: Persecution Of Jehovah's Witnesses, Countries
Famous quotes containing the word france:
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