As students across France return to classes, French authorities are closely monitoring more than 500 schools for signs of potential violations of the recently announced ban on the abaya, a Muslim dress for women, according to the country’s Education Minister.
The French government introduced a ban on the abaya in schools last month, citing concerns that it violated the principles of secularism in education, similar to previous bans on Muslim headscarves. This move has elicited varying reactions, with the political right applauding it as a step towards upholding secular values, while the left argues that it encroaches on civil liberties.
Education Minister Gabriel Attal disclosed, “There are 513 educational establishments that we have identified as potentially affected by this issue at the start of the school year.” He further explained that preparations had been made before the school year commenced to identify schools where this ban could pose challenges and trained school inspectors would be deployed to specific schools.
France boasts approximately 45,000 schools, with 12 million students returning to classrooms as the new academic year begins.
Critics from the left have accused President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist government of attempting to compete with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally by implementing the abaya ban, thus shifting towards the right of the political spectrum.
However, Attal emphasized his opposition to imposing a ban on parents wearing religious attire when accompanying their children on school outings, stating, “There is a distinction between what occurs within the school and what transpires outside of it. What concerns me is what happens within the school environment.”
Some prominent figures on the right have suggested that children should be required to wear school uniforms in state schools. Attal announced that a uniform trial would be initiated in the autumn, though he acknowledged that it might not be a one-size-fits-all solution to all educational challenges.
France enacted a law in March 2004 that banned “the wearing of symbols or clothing by which students ostentatiously display a religious affiliation” in schools. This law encompasses large crosses, Jewish kippas, and Islamic headscarves. Unlike headscarves, abayas—long overgarments worn in accordance with Islamic beliefs—existed in a gray area and faced no explicit ban until now.
