French Court Upholds Ban on Abayas in Schools, Rejecting Legal Challenge

The Council of State rejected on Monday a second referral against the ban on wearing the abaya at school, less than three weeks after dismissing the petition of the Association for the Rights of Muslims (ADM). This time, the highest administrative court rejected the request of two associations (La voix lycéenne and Le poing levé) and the SUD Éducation union, reports Saphir News.

"Based on the current state of the investigation, the judge in chambers considers that there is no serious doubt as to the legality of the ban decided by the Minister of National Education and Youth on August 31, 2023," states the Council of State, supporting that the wearing of the abaya and the qamis at school "is part of a logic of religious affirmation, as emerges in particular from the remarks made during the dialogues engaged with the students".

The judge in chambers recalls that "the law prohibits, within the premises of public school establishments, the wearing by pupils of conspicuous religious symbols or clothing, either by themselves or by reason of the pupil’s behavior," before concluding that the minister has not "disregarded Article L. 141-5-1 of the Education Code" in banning the wearing of the abaya or the qamis in public school establishments.

The Council of State stresses that this decision is "provisional". A final decision will come "later" after a judgment "on the merits".