PARIS: French conservatives on Monday applauded the government\u2019s decision to ban children from wearing the abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools, but the move also drew criticism and some mockery.
\nFrance, which has enforced a strict ban on religious symbols in state schools since 19th century laws removed any traditional Catholic influence from public education, has struggled to update guidelines to deal with a growing Muslim minority.
\nThe strict brand of secularism, known as \u201claicite,\u201d is a sensitive topic, and one often quick to trigger tension.
\n\u201cOur schools are continually put under test, and over the past months, breaches to laicite have increased considerably, in particular with (pupils) wearing religious attire like abayas and kameez,\u201d Education Minister Gabriel Attal told a news conference to explain Sunday\u2019s ban.
\nThe head of the conservative Les Republicains party, Eric Ciotti, was quick to welcome the move, stressing that his group had repeatedly asked for it.
\nBut Clementine Autain, an MP for the hard-left France Insoumise, criticized what she called the \u201cclothes police\u201d and a move \u201ccharacteristic of an obesssional rejection of Muslims.\u201d
\nThe SNPDEN-UNSA union of school principals welcomed the move, saying what it needed above all was clarity, its national secretary, Didier Georges, told Reuters.
\n\u201cWhat we wanted from ministers was: yes or no?\u201d Georges said of the abaya. \u201cWe\u2019re satisfied because a decision was made. We would have been equally happy if the decision had been to authorize the abaya.
\n\u201cWe were worried by a strong increase in the (the number of pupils) wearing the abaya. And we believe that it was not our role to arbitrate, but one for the state,\u201d he said, speaking of concerns over principals\u2019 security.
\nIn 2020, history teacher Samuel Paty was killed by an Islamist radical in an attack that struck at the heart of the country\u2019s secular values and the role teachers have.
\nSophie Venetitay, from the SNES-FSU union, said it was key to focus on dialogue with pupils and families to ensure the ban did not mean children will be taken away from state-run schools to go to religious schools.
\n\u201cAnd what is certain is that the abaya is not the main problem for schools,\u201d she told Reuters, stressing that a lack of teachers was a much bigger issue.
\nIn 2004, France banned headscarves in schools and passed a ban on full face veils in public in 2010, angering some in its five million-strong Muslim community.
\nLess than a year ago, Attal\u2019s predecessor, Pap Ndiaye, decided against going further and specifically banning the abaya, telling the Senate that \u201cthe abaya is not easy to define, legally… it would take us to the administrative tribunal, where we would lose.\u201d
\nAbdallah Zekri, vice-chair of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, made a similar point, saying Attal\u2019s decision was misguided.
\n\u201cThe abaya is not religious attire, it\u2019s a type of fashion,\u201d he told BFM TV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS: French conservatives on Monday applauded the government\u2019s decision to ban children from wearing the abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools, but the move also drew criticism and some mockery. France, which has enforced a strict ban on religious symbols in state schools since 19th century laws removed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352198,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-352192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n