The death of Pope John Paul II has divided France over the question of whether to publicly honor the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
The government ordered the nation's flag lowered for 24 hours after the announcement of the pope's death. Flags will again fly at half-staff Friday during his funeral, the BBC said Wednesday.
In addition, the interior minister urged top regional officials to attend Mass the day the pope is buried.
But the deputy mayor of Paris said he was "troubled" by such blatantly non-secular actions.
"On the front of our town halls, our schools, it is marked 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.' It isn't written 'Catholic France' or 'the Catholic Republic of France,' like the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Christophe Girar.
And a leading Socialist senator said the government's move was "a sort of favor made to one religion."
"The state authorities must demonstrate an absolute secularism without shades or half-tones," said Jean-Luc Melanchon.
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