The French government has been accused of promoting “barbarism” after recommending the legalisation of embryo research.

The Catholic Bishop of Bayonne, Marc Aillet, said that encouraging embryo research was the "temptation for man to set himself up as the master of life over his fellow men", reports LifeSiteNews.

The bishop issued the statement at the same time as a meeting of the Estates General on bioethics. The Estates General is debating issues like embryonic stem cell research and cloning, and will present its conclusions to the French Parliament as part of its review of the country’s 2004 bioethics law.

The French Council of State, which provides legal advice to the executive branch of the government, supports embryo research but has opposed the legalisation of “surrogate motherhood”.

Bishop Aillet said, "How can we not discern behind this zealous focus on the embryo a violence committed against every human being and definitively against God?"

On the recommendation of the Council of State, the bishop said, “If one of the highest authorities in the Republic takes a stance even before the Estates General announced by the government have concluded, isn't there a risk of confusing the democratic debate?"

He added that the state had the responsibility to promote the "principle of dignity" an should work to “guarantee equality in society".

Bishop Aillet pointed out that instead of focusing on embryo research, scientists and politicians should look towards research on adult and umbilical cord blood cells, which have proved successful and have fewer ethical question marks.