Court ruling found offering alternate menu choices did not violate secularist principles
\nPARIS
\nAlthough the subject gets little media coverage, the problem of food in French school cafeterias is a headache for many parents of Muslim students.
\nCiting their version of secularism, some mayors have decided not to offer alternative menus in school cafeterias.
\nThis is the case in Tassin-la-Demi-Lune, a commune on the outskirts of Lyon, which since 2016 has mandated that only a single menu be offered for school meals.
\nAnd when the only meal offered is sometimes centered around pork, students who eat only halal or kosher \u2013 approved under Muslim or Jewish guidelines, respectively \u2013 have trouble getting enough to eat.
\nTo get around this problem, some mayors have proposed an exclusively vegetarian menu, citing environmental concerns
\nThese mayors have given the choice to parents with three possible menus: meat, fish, or vegetarian. The Grenoble City Hall asked parents to choose the menu they wanted, and 94% opted for fish or beef\/chicken menus.
\nChildren in those schools were able to choose their meals, unlike the situation created by other mayors who think that secularism means making Muslim and Jewish children either eat pork or go hungry.
\nBacklash from Muslim parents
\nFaced with a lack of empathy by mayors, parents in schools where pork is often the only choice launched an online petition to demand alternative menus.
\nThey said that last December, the Council of State clearly ruled that proposals for alternative menus in fact do no undermine secularism or religious neutrality.
\nMoreover, it argued that \u201ca single menu goes against the sense of history at a time when food waste is being criticized.\u201d
\n\u201cThe unique menu, defended by the City Council in Tassin-la-Demi-Lune, hinders access to catering for 20% of students, whether for religious reasons, health, or belief (vegetarianism),\u201d said the parents\u2019 petition, adding: \u201cThe role of a mayor is to serve the population, all the population, in the name of the general welfare.\u201d
\nSeveral well-known figures, including journalist and feminist activist Rokhaya Diallo, have lent support to the petition and encouraged others to sign it.
\nIn France, Muslims are subjected to unrelenting attacks and exclusion amid an intensifying debate over the visibility of the community.
\nThere is a question about the definition and concrete application of the principle of secularism. While some want to go further by prohibiting any \u201cMuslim-related\u201d visibility, others are looking to live and let live.
\nSchool dress codes
\nAmong the hardliners, Eric Ciotti, the mayor of Nice, France\u2019s fifth-largest city, and a presidential hopeful last year, wants to modify a 2004 law on religious symbols in schools to ban certain types of clothing, such as abayas \u2013 a long, free-flowing garment worn by Muslim women over their clothes.
\nApparently referring to Muslim young girls who wear long skirts, he called allowing such clothing \u201ca misuse of secularism.\u201d
\nSome elected representatives in France apparently want to have \u201ca clothing police\u201d that will have the right to decide if attire is a religious dress.
\nFor weeks, several French media outlets have charged that the abayas \u201cviolate secularism,\u201d and so young girls should not wear them.
\nMany of the same outlets also believe that girls should not wear short skirts. In short, unlike Iran, which imposes the wearing of the veil, some in France try to impose \u201crepublican\u201d clothes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Court ruling found offering alternate menu choices did not violate secularist principles PARIS Although the subject gets little media coverage, the problem of food in French school cafeterias is a headache for many parents of Muslim students. Citing their version of secularism, some mayors have decided not to offer alternative menus in school cafeterias. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-291339","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n