Paris Lutherans elect woman leader. (News).

For the first time, Lutherans in Paris have elected a woman to lead their church. Rev. Marie-France Robert, 54, will succeed Rev. Michel Viot as "inspecteur ecclesiastique" (church inspector-equivalent to bishop) when the latter completes his term, 1996- spring 2001. Delegates from the Paris district of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France elected Rev. Robert at the regional synod meeting on November 25. As stipulated in the synod's constitution, two-thirds of the synod delegates are lay persons drawn from the region's 24 congregations which include Lyon, Marseille and Nice. Rev. Marie-France Robert has spent 11 years in Madagascar as a teacher and lay person responsible for evangelism. She studied theology in Paris and was ordained pastor in 1982. Married with two children, Robert is presently in charge of the St. Peter congregation north of Paris. She will be installed par She has been installed.