Mixed reactions have continued to trail the ban on abayas in France.
French conservatives on Monday hailed the government’s decision to prohibit pupils from wearing abayas, the loose-fitting, full-length gowns used by certain Muslim women, at state-run schools, but the measure sparked criticism and some mocking.
Since 19th-century regulations abolished any traditional Catholic influence on public education, France has struggled to adapt norms to meet the needs of a rising Muslim population.
The severe style of secularism known as “laicite” is a touchy subject that frequently sparks controversy.
“Our schools are constantly put to the test, and in recent months, violations of laicite have increased significantly, particularly with (pupils) wearing religious attire like abayas and kameez,” Education Minister Gabriel Attal said during a press conference to explain the restriction on Sunday.
Eric Ciotti, the chairman of the conservative Les Republicains party, was quick to applaud the move, emphasizing that his party had consistently requested it.
However, Clementine Autain, an MP for the hard-left France Insoumise, slammed the “clothes police” and said the move was “characteristic of an obsessive rejection of Muslims.”
The SNPDEN-UNSA union of school principals applauded the action, stating that what it needed most was clarity, according to Didier Georges, its national secretary.
“All we needed from ministers was a yes or no. Georges described the abaya: We’re pleased that a decision was reached. We would have been as pleased if the decision had been made to allow the abaya.
“We were concerned by a significant increase in the number of students wearing the abaya, and we think that it was not our responsibility to arbitrate but rather that of the state,” he added, referring to security concerns for principals.
In 2020, an Islamist terrorist assassinated history teacher Samuel Paty in an incident that struck at the core of the country’s secular principles and the function of teachers.
According to Sophie Venetitay of the SNES-FSU union, it is critical to focus on interaction with students and families to ensure that the restriction does not result in children being removed from state-run schools to attend religious institutions.
“And what is certain is that the abaya is not the main problem for schools,” she told Reuters, emphasizing that a shortage of instructors was a far more serious problem.
France outlawed headscarves in schools in 2004 and full-face veils in public in 2010, infuriating some members of its five million-strong Muslim minority.
Pap Ndiaye, Attal’s predecessor, opted against going farther and expressly prohibiting the abaya less than a year ago, telling the Senate that “the abaya is not easy to define, legally… it would take us to the administrative tribunal, where we would lose.”
