Interior Ministry Defends Controversial Census of Muslim Students Absent on Eid al-Fitr

After the revelations of La Dépêche du Midi, former PS first secretary Jean-Christophe Cambadélis asked, on Sunday, that Gérald Darmanin "shed light" on the census of absent students in Toulouse. "This is nonsense. We are in an incredible situation," he lashed out on Radio J, before questioning: "What led the police to address the school principals (to know the absenteeism rate)? What were they looking for? That’s what needs to be known." The former socialist deputy evokes "likely" discrimination.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Ministry of the Interior acknowledged having ordered the police to census in Toulouse, but also in other academies, the students absent for the day of Eid al-Fitr. "The Ministry of the Interior and Overseas regularly studies the impact of certain religious holidays on the functioning of public services, particularly within the school sphere. It is in this context that an assessment of the absenteeism rate observed on the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr holiday on April 21 last could be requested, in certain academies, from the school principals."

However, Gérald Darmanin’s department rejects the accusations of "religious profiling", assuring that its only motivation was the evaluation of the "absenteeism rate". "Contrary to what has been stated in recent days, the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas obviously does not practice any profiling of students based on their faith: no personal data has been requested or recorded at any time," it assures.