Public buildings and public meeting rooms represent the local and regional governments, as such they "must send out a neutral message, free of religious, philosophic or moral symbols". Local authorities have, therefore, been asked to remove all distinctly religious symbols that may upset citizens of different religious sensibilities from public buildings. But minister Courard does not want this directive to be rigid and absolute, and is giving the local authorities the "freedom to judge" which religious signs may upset others and which hold enough particular aesthetic value to justify their presence. Minister Courard also pointed out that he has no intention of imposing rules regarding the wearing of headscarves or other religious items.
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