French President Nicolas Sarkozy is drawing criticism from opponents for his increasingly frequent remarks on religion in society, which critics say is a very "un-French" thing to do.
Sarkozy broke a taboo last December when he emphasised France's Christian roots at a speech in Rome basilica, referring to France as "the eldest daughter of the Church" and stating that "the roots of France are essentially Christian".
Some say his speeches, including his latest in Saudi Arabia's capital city, ignore a French law separating church and state.
"A speech citing God not only on every page, but on every line, creates a fundamental problem for the republic," argued Socialist Jean Glavany at the National Assembly last Wednesday, referring to Sarkozy's speech earlier in the week on providing state subsidies for faith-based groups.
Last Monday, in Riyadh, Sarkozy hailed Islam as "one of the greatest and most beautiful civilisations the world has known" and described his Saudi hosts as rulers who "appeal to the basic values of Islam to combat the fundamentalism that negates them".
His praise for a kingdom that enforces and propagates a strict interpretation of Islam - during a visit aimed at securing lucrative export contracts - was the last straw for many of his critics.
"This is not respect for the separation of church and state," socialist opposition leader Francois Hollande said, according to Reuters.
"This is an ideological stand that makes religion into an instrument to promote French products civilian nuclear plants for Muslim countries," he said. "Mixing religion and foreign policy is illogical and wrong."
