The election of a Catholic priest as a university president has been criticised as a breach of France¡¯s strict separation of the church and state.

Michel Deneken was named as the new of the University of Strasbourg on 13 December after he won the backing of almost three-quarters of the university¡¯s governing body.

However, his appointment has been attacked by some teaching unions, which say his service as a Catholic priest should disqualify him from public office. Professor Deneken was ordained in the 1980s and was a parish priest from 1985 until 2000, while also working at the university since 1989.

¡°This goes completely against the French Republican principle that public services should be completely neutral,¡± said a statement released by the SNESUP higher education union, according to .

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¡°We are extremely concerned about the candidacy of a theologian and priest to the head of the University of Strasbourg,¡± it added.

Strasbourg, a part of Alsace, in eastern France, has a special exemption from a 1905 law which separates church and state as it was then part of Germany following the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.

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However, this exemption from the law, which prohibits the display of religious clothing or symbols on campus, has not satisfied some critics, France 24 said.

¡°Just because it isn¡¯t illegal, doesn¡¯t mean that it is desirable,¡± SNESUP spokesman Pascal Maillard told French newspaper Le Monde.

His opponent in the presidential election, political science professor H¨¦l¨¨ne Michel, had also said that ¡°fears about the reputation of the university, and the direction of research conducted here, are perfectly legitimate¡± in light of Professor Deneken¡¯s former job.

¡°Even if Michel Deneken is no longer a parish priest, one is still a priest for life, and subject to the authority of the Church¡± she told Le Monde.

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Professor Deneken, who has served as interim president since September, has said that ¡°universities are places where matters of faith should never interfere with teaching or research, and should always respect the laws of the Republic and the ethics of education.¡±

Professor Deneken replaces Alain Beretz, who resigned to become France¡¯s head of research and innovation, and has been supported by the local AFGES students' union, which said his religious status had ¡°never been a problem, and we don¡¯t see how it could be."

jack.grove@tesglobal.com