Christian Sautier, director of communications in the mayor’s office, said it was “an isolated, clumsy and unfortunate initiative”, He added: “When we learned about it, we fell out of our chairs.”
The initiative was carried out by canteen staff, without informing the local authorities. The mayor has ordered an investigation.
This is not the first time pork-free school dinners have been a sensitive issue. Leader of far-right party National Front, Marine Le Pen, provoked anger when she tried to get schools to stop offering alternatives to pork in the towns where her party won local elections.