Rise in Religious Attire at French Schools Sparks Secularism Debate

According to the Minister of Education Pap Ndiaye, it is essentially about "wearing clothes or religious accessories", such as abayas (long and loose robes reaching below the ankles) and qamis (long garment for men), in schools, colleges and high schools. The data he has shows 313 cases of violations of secularism reported since September, compared to 904 in the April-July quarter, and 635 between December and March. "82% of the people concerned for these facts are students, and 8% are staff of National Education and 5% are parents of students," reports BFMTV.

There are also publications on social networks such as Twitter and TikTok, of short videos encouraging the wearing of religious symbols which further exacerbate the situation. Pap Ndiaye deplores these "advice that some ill-intentioned influencers give to teenagers to circumvent the law", using certain non-religious clothing to cover up. But "the Republic is stronger than TikTok," warned the minister.

For some high school girls interviewed by BFMTV, wearing abayas has nothing to do with religion. "Wearing the abaya is not related to religion but rather to tradition, or to the real desire to wear covering clothes," explain some of them. They are delighted that the high school allows them to wear these clothes that were not allowed last year. "I’ve always been more comfortable covered than naked," explains one. "It has nothing religious, I prefer a person with abayas than a person who will wear crop-tops or mini-shorts," declares another high school student.

For the administrative staff, it is difficult to know what is a religious garment or not. "How do you want even the young people to find their way, to know that in such a high school it is not allowed, and that in another 100 meters it is authorized," questions Marianne Dodinet, from the independent union and FO management, principal of a high school in Paris. "That’s the difficulty, we can’t leave it to local discretion to choose: is this a prohibited religious garment or is it not a religious garment?" she asks.

On the issue, Minister Pap Ndiaye notes some nuances. "The law is perfectly clear. There are religious signs that are so by nature: a veil, a kippah or a large cross. And then there are religious signs by destination, which can become so by an intention that their author attributes to them [...] That’s why the heads of establishments have to look closely at the ostentatious signs".