France: A physician fired from a hospital, loses in court

The request of a trainee doctor practicing at the Saint-Denis hospital center, sacked in February 2014 because of his beard deemed religiously ostentatious, was rejected by the Administrative Appeal Court of Versailles, in a decision issued December the 19th, indicates AFP.

However, the court ruled that «growing a beard, even a long one, can not alone constitute a sign of religious affiliation». It is only in the presence of some «elements justifying that it actually represents (...) the manifestation of a claim or a religious affiliation» that it can be considered ostentatious.

Thus, the court validated the decision of the hospital because of the context, not just the beard of the doctor in training. The hospital management had asked Mr. A, an Egyptian practitioner to shave his «imposing» beard three times, but he refused to..

Faced with the multiple demands of the hospital center, Mr. A. «confined himself to invoking the respect of his private life without denying his physical appearance was likely to manifest ostensibly a religious commitment.»

The Egyptian practitioner has «breached his obligations with regard to respect for secularism and the principle of neutrality of the public service». And even if, the judge stressed that «growing his beard was accompanied by no act of proselytism or observations of users of the service.» The disciplinary measure is «legally justified», according to the court of Versailles.

His lawyer Nawel Gafsia told le Figaro that her client «was finally able to do his internship at Paul Brousse hospital in Villejuif» and that «his 5 cm long beard did not bother anyone».