Muslim High School in Lille Faces New Funding Battle with Regional Government

A situation that repeats itself. Last year, the Averroès high school was faced with the same decision followed by the same appeals. This new refusal, "it’s a bit of a repetition," laments Paul Jablonski, one of the two lawyers in the case. This time, he specifies, it is very precisely about the payment of the external allowance for the 2020-2021 school year, a "mandatory contribution that the Region is obliged to pay to private schools under contract."

The new rejection comes after a decision in July by the Lille administrative court, which had ordered the Region to re-examine its implicit refusal to pay the funds to the high school, recalling "the serious doubt as to the legality of this refusal".

The Averroès association contested the refusal by filing an appeal with the administrative court. Two hearings are scheduled for October 11. The first follows the refusal of the 2020-2021 allowance "and the other concerns the refusal of the 2021-2022 allowance," the lawyer said.

To recall, Xavier Bertrand, president of the Hauts-de-France regional council, has decided since 2009 not to grant any funding to the Averroès association. A decision that the Council of State had rejected, restoring the Muslim high school to its rights. "We first won before the judge of the Lille administrative court’s summary proceedings on two occasions," the lawyer stressed.