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The Alsace-Moselle is the current legal name of the Alsace-Lorraine territory, the part of France that was part of Germany from 1871 to 1919 (and then from 1940 to 1944- 1945), consisting of the départements of Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin (both of which make up Alsace), and the département of Moselle (itself being the eastern part of Lorraine). While an integral part of France, it has for historical reasons different customs and lawsThis article is about law in society. For other possible meanings, see law (disambiguation). Law (a loanword from Danish-Norwegian lov , in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules of conduct which mandate or proscribe (or both) specified relationshi on certain issues, nobably those where France adopted a standard or principle in the period 1871-1919. The region is also notable for the large number of mother-tongue High GermanHigh German (in German, Hochdeutsch please note that Hochdeutsch is also used to refered to today's standard German) is any of several West Germanic languages spoken in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Luxembourg (as well as in neighbouri dialect speakers ( AlsatianAlsatian ( French Alsacien German Elsassisch is a German Alemannic dialect spoken in Alsace, a region now in eastern France, and historically passing between French and German control many times. Alsatian has therefore been heavily influenced by the Frenc, a dialect of Upper German, in Alsace; and FrankishThe Frankish language can refer to: the language spoken by the Franks, a Germanic people active in the Roman era, often now called Old Frankish a West Franconian dialect of modern German spoken in Alsace and Lorraine, regions in France the Franconian lang, a dialect of West Middle GermanWest Middle German is a High German dialect family in the German language. Its dialects are thoroughly Franconian including the following sub-families: Middle Franconian Ripuarian Franconian ( North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Belgium) Luxe, in Moselle), although the number of native speakers has dwindled significantly since the Second World War, and French is now paramount in these regions. The most striking of the legal differences is the absence of separation of Church and State - even though the constitutional right of freedom of religion is guaranteed. Alsace-Moselle is still under the pre- 1905 regime established of the Concordat, which provides for the public subsidy of the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Calvinist Church and the Jewish Religion as well as public education in those religions (parents may refuse religious education for their children). Priests are paid by the state; Catholic bishops are named by the President on the proposal of the Pope. The public University of Strasbourg has courses in theology.
Those dispositions are unusual in a country where Church and State are more strictly separated than anywhere else. Controversy erupts periodically on the appropriateness of these and other extraordinary legal dispositions of Alsace-Moselle. Periodically, freethinker groups contend that this public funding of certain religions should stop. Others argue that, nowadays, the second largest denomination in France is Islam and that Islam should thus enjoy comparable status with the four official religions. Despite the controversy, the status quo looks like it will persist.
Other legal differences include:
Another difference is that in Alsace-Lorraine, most trains run on the right of the tracks, as in Germany, whereas the normal rule in France is on the left.
