French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ed Poor (talk | contribs) at 15:24, 19 February 2004 (Some rearrangement of opening sentences; trying for a shorter more general article title). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jump to navigation Jump to search


Religious symbols in French schools have become controversial in recent years. Many French want to ban the conspicuous display of such symbols by schoolchildren, while others oppose this ban.

A proposed law (known in French as la loi sur la laïcité, literally the law on laïcité) proposes to prohibit conspicious religious symbols and clothing being worn by students in publicly-funded schools.

The "French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools" is a proposed amendment to an existing French law based on the separation of Church and State. The bill has passed France's national legislature and will take effect at the beginning of the new school year in autumn 2004.

The full title of the bill is "PROJET DE LOI encadrant, en application du principe de laïcité, le port de signes ou de tenues manifestant une appartenance religieuse dans les écoles, collèges et lycées publics." (This can be translated as: "BILL, as part of the implementation of the principle of laïcité, on wearing symbols or clothing that indicate religious adherence in State-funded schools, colleges [11-15 years] and lycées [16-18 years].")

Background and Stasi Commission

In 2003 an investigative committee (la commission Stasi) ruled that ostentatious displays of religion violated the secular rules of the French school system and recommended a law forbidding pupils from wearing "conspicuous" (i.e. visible, and meant to be visible) signs of belonging to a religion. Items prohibited would include head scarves for Muslim girls, yarmulkes for Jewish boys, turbans for Sikh boys and large Christian crosses. Discreet symbols of faith such as small crosses, Stars of David or Fatima's hands will still be allowed. The previous system had left the decision to individual schools and their principals, some of whom chose to exclude Muslim girls who refused to remove their head-scarves, but the majority of whom did not.

The investigation of the Commission was the result of long debate over head scarves that has divided France since 1989, when two young girls were expelled from their school in Creil, near Paris, for wearing head scarves (known as l'affaire du foulard: "the head scarf affair"). However, as the Commission notes in its report, the debate was larger than just the issue of the veil.

The senate commission based its report on multiple sources: school representatives, headmasters, professors, local associations, such as Ni Putes Ni Soumises or SOS Racisme, representatives of the main religions and leaders of human rights organizations. In 2003, the French Council of the Muslim Faith was set up by Nicolas Sarkozy (the minister for domestic affairs) and is legally recognised by the state to discuss such issues.

The Commission's report recalled that the mission of public schools in France is to transmit knowledge, to teach students to have critical approach of issues, to assures autonomy and openness to cultural diversity, and to encourage personal development. Schooling is meant both to train students for a professional career, and also to make them into good citizens of the French Republic. The report that such a mission presupposes fixed common rules, like gender equality and respect for secularity.

However, since the 1990s, many schools the have been far from this ideal. There have been many cultural clashes, leading to violence, threats to individual freedom, and problems with public order in general. Most of the debate has been centered on hijab – the Islamic dress code, which may include a veil for women – but more generally, on religious or political symbols (such as nazi symbols) being worn in schools. The wearing of the veil in school is a recent phenomenon (since the late 1980s) in mainland France, and is the most visible sign of the conflict. The increasing number of headscarves being worn may be seen as a sign of extremist activity in France, in particular in poor suburbs.

The Commission identified the following positions with regard to wearing the Muslim veil:

For those wearing it, the veil can have different meanings. It may be a free personal choice or something they have been forced to do. Most French people find this idea of constraint or pressure particularly intolerable when it relates to young girls (some girls start wearing a veil before 11). For those not wearing it, the meaning of the Islamic veil stigmatised the young girl or the young woman as responsible for attracting male desire, a vision which fundamentally contradicts the principle of equality between men and women – although this overlooks the fact that both Muslim men and women are instructed to dress modestly by the Qur'an. The purpose of dressing according to hijab varies from person to person. Some women see the veil as a way to preserve their modesty, submit to Allah, and to be respected equally regardless of physical appearance; others, who feel forced to wear it against their wishes, see it as a way to keep women hidden and subservient, and as a way to justify violence towards women who choose not to wear it.

For the whole of the school community, the fact that some students wear a veil is very often a source of conflict and division. Its visibility is resented by many teachers who feel it goes against the goal of schools to be a place of neutrality and of critical awareness. It is also seen as a threat to the principles and values that the schools must teach – laïcité, but especially equality between men and women. This position is in particular held by many French female teachers. As a consequence, school representatives want a clear framework, a nation-wide policy, and for the decision to be taken by the country's political authorities following a public debate. Most school representatives, headmasters, and teachers want a law forbidding all visible signs, so that the headmaster should not be the only one left with the responsibility of deciding whether a sign worn by a pupil is offensive or not.

The representatives of the main religions and leaders of human rights organizations expressed several objections to a law banning the wearing of religious symbols. They believe it will lead to the stigmatisation of Muslims, exacerbate anti-religious sentiment, promote the image of a France which restricts personal freedom, and encourage Muslim girls to drop out of schools if they feel they are being forced to chose between schooling and their faith.

Recently however, in addition to the issue of the veil, tension mostly over religious issues and even violence in schools has been increasing. Many school representatives have been facing these issues alone for 20 years now, often in difficult areas (officially recognised as such), which were already plagued by student violence and rejection of the principles of education. They have highlighted the tensions provoked by the revendication of religious and group identities, like the formation of clans, for instance. They regret frequent violence toward themselves as well, in particular toward female teachers.

Local associations also frequently call for help for young girls and women, daughters of immigrants, living in the sensible quartiers. These girls are thought of as the silent majority and are victims of pressures within the family or neighbourhood. Local associations believe these girls need protection and with this in mind they asked the political authorities to issue strong warnings to Islamic fundamentalist groups.

Local associations noted that a lot of pressure is in particular applied on young girls to force them to wear the veil, which was not the case 20 years ago (even though the Muslim population was of a similar size). The girls' families, in particular their brothers (more often than their fathers) sometimes force them to submit to choices which are not their own. Showing their hair or wearing jeans instead of dresses may be seen as signs of western depravity by their brothers, who abuse and threaten them. There are several well-known cases of young Muslims girls who refused to adopt the veil and dress code being considered as "prostitutes" and being the victims of gang rape. This view of the veil is particularly emphasised by the now famous (in France) feminist group Ni Putes Ni Soumises (Neither Whores Nor Submissives), which campaigns to defend the right of women to be able to go without the veil if they choose and still be respected as "decent" women, and not just be seen as sex-objects to be freely abused by men for their pleasure.

The Commission said that the Republic must face this situation, and that schools must remain a place of freedom and emancipation of women.

A section of the report which received less media attention also recommended that the school system stop only acknowledging Christian holidays, that Yom Kippur and Eid be celebrated each year, and also that conspicuous symbols of political affiliation be banned. The French National Assembly has not taken up these proposals.

Another topic raised by the Commission is the fact some pupils refuse to attend school because of teachers of the opposite sex, or refuse to attend certain classes (such as gymnastics or swimming lessons). The Commission suggested that exemptions will granted only by school or state recognise doctors (not simply by parents).

The law itself

In december 2003, President Jacques Chirac decided to act on the part of the Stasi report which recommended banning conspicuous religious symbols from schools, so that the text could be adopted according to the emergency procedure in January or February, ready to be applied at the start of the next school year, September 2004. The president asked that the issue be considered by the Commission, as it was no longer only a question of freedom of conscience, but one of political order.

On February 10, 2004 the lower house voted by a large majority (494 to 36) in support of the ban, which includes the caveat that it will be reviewed after it has been in force for one year.

The law will apply in France and its overseas territories (which are administered as a part of France), but some exceptions have been made for Overseas Countries and Territories with a large Muslim community. For example, Mayotte girls will be allowed to wear small bandanas (salouva) and light veils (kishall).

As all Republic rules, it must be explain in schools and sanctions only used in last resort.

Incidentally, the french word used for the english term "headscarf" is usually the "foulard", or the "voile", sometimes associated with the adjectiv "islamic" (islamic is not really making reference to extremism in french vocabulary). The word "hidjab" is often used as well, though it is a misnommer.

The clothing essentially targetted by the law is most usually a piece of clothing covering the entire woman head (but the face) as well as neck. Sometimes, the piece of clothing may cover the shoulders and chest as well. Fewer girls also wear a complete dress covering their body (djelbab). The entire piece of clothing (usually black) leaving just an eye free or no eye at all is rather seen on adult women (burka). There has recently been an uproar on the matter, as a mother entirely covered (but an eye) was made a representant of parents in a city school. Her participation to school deliberations entirely covered was highly criticized, but finally tolerated.

Public reaction

The ban is highly controversial. On February 14, 2004, the Associated Press reported that "Thousands of people, many of them women wearing head scarves, marched in France ... to protest a law banning the Islamic coverings and other religious apparel in public schools."

Polls suggest that a large majority of the French favour the ban. A January 2004 survey for Agence France-Presse showed 78% of teachers in favour. [in French] A February 2004 survey by CSA for Le Parisien showed 69% of the population for the ban and 29% against. For Muslims in France, the February survey showed 42% for and 53% against, with the proportion amongst Muslim women being 49% for and 43% against. [1]

Some arguments listed against the interest of veil banning are that

  • if girls decided to wear it freely, the ban might force them to choose between school and the veil itself
  • if girls are forced by their parents, they might be pulled out of the schools that might have freed them
  • if girls wear it because of peer pressure and fear of harassement, they will perhaps not feel less pressured or less afraid by the ban

Some have seen the ban as targeting the Muslim population of France — the nation's largest religious minority. Many Muslim leaders have expressed their opposition to the ban as have some Jewish, Christian, and civil liberties groups. The lawmakers admitted that they did not take into account France's small Sikh population, whose males are mandated to cover their heads, and who may also be banned from wearing their covering. Some Muslims also argue that hijab forms a part of a cultural tradition rather than part of a religious tradition and as such does not conflict with the tradition of laïcité in French schools.

There has not been very significant opposition of French Jews to this law. Some think that Jewish people hope that such a law will be a step in the direction of less gang violence toward Jewish boys, as was the case in the past years.

Some critics have raised a juridical point : they claim this law is not compatible with the European convention on fundamental human rights. The Commission discarded that argument : The European Court in Strasbourg protects laicité when it is a fundamental value of the State. It allows limits to the freedom of expression in public services, especially when it is a matter of protecting minors against external pressures.. The Commission considers the expressing of someone’s religion in the French state, has to comply to the basic rules regarding the secular nature of the state and has to comply with the requirements of equality between the sexes and the safeguarding of the rights of minors.

A comparative study of legislation in other EU countries can be found here (in French).

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_law_on_secularity_and_conspicuous_religious_symbols_in_schools&oldid=2444961"