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French court overturns ban on ‘racist’ cakes

France’s top administrative court overturned a ruling on Thursday banning a baker in the south of France from displaying “racist” cakes in his shop window.

Valery Hache, AFP | Confections known as “God” and “Goddess” cakes on display at the Belle Epoque bakery in the southern French town of Grasse
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The court’s decision comes as a victory for Yannick Tavolaro, who has sold the so-called “God” and “Goddess” cakes – which depict men and women confected out of dark chocolate with oversize genitalia – at his bakery in the town of Grasse for the past 15 years.

Controversy over the confections began in March after the prominent anti-racism organization Platform for Reflection and Action against Anti-Black Racism (CRAN) called for the cakes to be banned following a complaint from a local resident.

CRAN took the case to court after Grasse’s mayor refused to have them removed.

Later in March, a court in the nearby city of Nice ordered that the cakes be immediately taken from the bakery’s display window, deeming that they showed "two people of colour in grotesque and obscene attitudes" and violated “human dignity, especially that of the African people or people of African descent".

Grasse’s mayor was charged with overseeing the sweets’ removal with a fine of 500 euros for each day’s delay. The court also ordered the town to pay CRAN 1,000 euros.

The court, however, found no “malicious will” on Tavolaro’s behalf and allowed him to continue selling the cakes without displaying them in his shop window.

In a defamation complaint launched against CRAN, Tavolaro said that he was required to use dark chocolate to confect his “God” and “Goddess” cakes for technical reasons. He also described the sweets as cartoons.

On Thursday, Tavolaro was once again at liberty to display the controversial cakes after the country’s top administrative court, the State Council, overturned the ban.

Tavolaro had said in the past that he makes the cakes only on weekends, and often to order.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

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