August 28th 2023.
Today, Education Minister Gabriel Attal announced plans to widen restrictions on religious clothing in French schools, to include the abaya, a long outer garment worn by some Muslim women. He made the announcement during an interview with television channel TF1, saying: “When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupil’s religion just by looking at them.”
The current laws on religious clothing and symbols in French schools date back to the 19th century, and have been gradually modified in recent years in order to also exclude traditional Islamic attire. In 2004, the government prohibited schoolchildren from wearing headscarves, and in 2010, they went on to ban full face veils in public places.
The new ban on the abaya has been met with both approval and criticism. Many have welcomed the move, such as Didier Georges, national secretary of the SNPDEN-UNSA union of school principals who said: “What we wanted from ministers was: ‘yes or no?’ We’re satisfied because a decision was made.”
On the other hand, the plans have been attacked by some opposition politicians as part of a ‘campaign of Islamophobia’ from the state. Jean-Luc Melenchon, a far-left former presidential candidate, expressed his ‘sadness to see the return to school politically polarised by a new, absurd, entirely artificial religious war about a woman’s dress’, wondering when ‘there will be civil peace and true secularism that unites instead of exasperating?’.
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