Controversy Erupts at French School in Morocco Over Alleged Prayer Ban

Moroccan employees of establishments under the French mission in Morocco, including the Lyautey high school in Casablanca, would have been prevented from praying, some media have reported, explaining that a French teacher at this establishment would not have appreciated the fact that a Moroccan employee was praying in an isolated corner of the establishment and would not have hesitated to ask her to go pray at home.

"I am sure and certain that a teacher from the Lyautey high school did not try to prevent an employee from praying. If this had happened, I would have been immediately informed by the staff representatives who would not have let such an act pass," explains Jean-Pierre Pasquiou, the acting principal of the Lyautey High School, contacted by L’Opinion. The manager flatly denied the rumors relayed about this alleged "religious intolerance".

According to Jean-Pierre Pasquiou, "the staff of the Lyautey high school have a prayer room and a locker room equipped to do their ablutions" and "the teachers know perfectly well that the right to pray at their workplace for the staff must be respected. I have never heard the slightest remark on this subject." The principal recalled that the Lyautey high school promotes "humanistic values of tolerance, respect for the common good".