French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
Encyclopedia
The French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools bans wearing conspicuous religious symbols
in French public
(i.e. government-operated) primary and secondary schools
. The law is an amendment to the French Code of Education that expands principles founded in existing French law, especially the constitutional requirement of laïcité
: the separation of state and religious activities.
The bill
passed France's national legislature and was signed into law by President Jacques Chirac
on 15 March 2004 (thus the technical name is law 2004-228 of 15 March 2004) and came into effect on 2 September 2004, at the beginning of the new school year. The full title of the law is (literally "Law #2004-228 of March 15, 2004 concerning, as an application of the principle of the separation of church and state, the wearing of symbols or garb which show religious affiliation in public primary and secondary schools").
The law does not mention any particular symbol, and thus bans all Christian (veil, signs), Muslim (veil, signs), and other minor religions' signs. But it is considered by many to specifically target the wearing of headscarves (a khimar
, considered by most Muslims to be an obligatory article of faith as part of hijab
["modesty"]) by Muslim
schoolgirls. For this reason, it is occasionally referred to as the French headscarf ban in the foreign press.
While for some Muslims the concept of hijab is seen as balanced and consistent with ideas of gender equality, others see the religious prescription on female covering as chauvinistic, patriarchal, oppressive and an enforcement on women and against their rights. All mainstream Muslim scholars agree Islam prohibits any sort of compulsion in aspects of faith. Therefore most Muslims concede outright that the forcing of women to wear the headscarf is against Islamic precepts and cannot be accepted.
A number of Islamic feminists see the wearing of the headscarf, and particularly of the full-face veil such as the niqāb
, as oppressive of women. The influential French activist and politician Fadela Amara
has thus stated: "The veil is the visible symbol of the subjugation of women, and therefore has no place in the mixed, secular spaces
of France's public school system
." Hedi Mhenni likewise expressed support for Tunisia
's ban on the veil: "If today we accept the headscarf, tomorrow we'll accept that women's rights to work and vote and receive an education be banned and they'll be seen as just a tool for reproduction and housework."
Education is compulsory in France up to the age of 16. The French system of primary and secondary education consists of:
Schools in the first two categories are required to apply the same national curricula as defined by the Ministry of Education
. The curriculum for schools in the third category is free, provided that students receive at least some minimal skills in writing, mathematics, etc. The law discussed in this article only applies to government-operated schools, in the first category.
The French government highly subsidises private elementary and secondary schools, even those affiliated with religious organizations, as long as they apply the same curriculum as the public schools, with the same academic standards, and that do not discriminate on grounds of religious affiliation nor make religious education compulsory. It is for instance common that children of agnostic
or otherwise non-religious families, or children of families from other religions, are put in Catholic school
s, if their parents judge these schools to offer better conditions of education. Consequently, families can use private schools at moderate costs. While there are no accessible official national statistics on the costs of private schools, typical prices per year for low-income families are in the range of a few hundred euro
s. The average costs are €500 a year per student; however, this statistic includes very expensive, exclusive schools. In addition, according to the figures from the secretariat, more than half of schools have established a price schedule taking into account a family's income; as a result, costs to parents can be as little as €20 to €30 per school month per student. As an element of comparison, this is approximately twice the monthly price for a telephone landline in France. Newspapers have reported that on some occasions, the costs of private schooling of students who would not accept the ban on religious garbs were thus paid for by the state rather than those families.
In addition, the French government operates a distant learning agency, the CNED
, which is another solution for families impacted by the normal rules or schedules of public schools.
, prohibiting the state from recognizing or funding any religion. Schools directly operated by the national or local governments must not endorse or promote any religious dogma (whether endorsing an existing religion or endorsing atheism
or any other philosophy). Schools funded totally or in part by the national and local governments by law must not force students into religious education; they should remain equally accessible to children of any, or no, faith. For example, even though a majority of the population nominally professes Catholicism
(although far fewer regularly practice Catholicism), government-operated French schools have no communal prayers
, religious assemblies, or Christian cross
es on the walls. The Constitution of France
says that France is a laïque
(roughly, secular) Republic.
In France, historically, differences between religions (or between religious and non-religious people) have often resulted in deep divisions of society, from the 16th-century Wars of Religion
to the late 19th-century Dreyfus Affair
. The Roman Catholic Church was the dominating religion until the Revolution of 1789, when the French people sought to overthrow not only the monarchy and its supporters, but also the whole social and political system, including the Church. Although the Church survived the revolution, according to the ideology of the new republic it could no longer remain a separate estate with its own possessions. Therefore, the new government confiscated the land and assets belonging to the Church and auctioned them off to help resolve the financial problems that had led to the revolution. The state also attempted a huge restructuring of the Church hierarchy and demanded that the clergy swear allegiance to the French government ahead of the Church. Only a small percentage of priests complied with this request, but nevertheless this attempt to bring the Catholic Church under state control can be seen as the beginning of the development of secularism
in France.
Roman Catholicism was recognised as the faith of the majority of French citizens, but Napoleon also named Judaism and the Lutheran and Reformed Churches as being officially recognised by the state. Although these four 'official' religions received state funding and protection (until the 1905 law as above), none of them were given the status as the religion of the state. France had begun to view faith as a matter for each individual citizen rather than for a nation as a whole.
As a result of this history, religious manifestations are considered undesirable in government-operated schools; primary and secondary schools are supposed to be neutral spaces where children can learn away from political or religious pressures, controversies and quarrels. Because of this neutrality requirement, students are normally prohibited from conducting religious proselytising
or political activism on the premises.
Civil servants are expected to stay neutral with respect to politics or religion when they discharge their duties. More generally, they are expected to keep a certain reserve and not make comments or demonstrations that may be interpreted as political, religious, or other bias in the course of their duties or as an endorsement of particular religious or partisan political views by the government. Teaching personnel in government-operated schools must not, by law, endorse any political or religious point of view; they may also face sanctions for wearing overt religious symbols.
For many years school administrators have accepted that schoolchildren wear symbols of their various religions, such as a Christian
student wearing a cross, or a Jewish
boy wearing a kippah
. However, there was some leeway and uncertainty in those matters, and occasionally some students faced disciplinary action for ostentatious attire.
Many people find crosses and yarmulkes acceptable, but not headscarves, for a variety of reasons. Some feminists do not consider them as religious symbols, but as symbols of female alienation, or dangerous signs of mounting communautarisme (ethnicisation of social relationships, which the French do not view favorably), rising Islamist movements, or attacks on the Republic, are sometimes deemed 'foreign' and 'unfrench'. However, some people regard the wearing of headscarves as a feminist choice and do not view this as fundamentally different from other choices relating to clothing. The fact that most Muslims in France come from former French colonies has added a racist/antiracist tint to the debate. The issue has deeply divided France and debate has raged on ever since.
The issue of religion has wider implications than the mere wearing of headscarves, which contributed to the complexity of the debate. Occasionally, Muslim students have refused to attend certain classes when they or those influencing them deemed aspects of their faith to be contradicted (such as swimming classes or physical education); or insisted on attending them in Islamic garb, thus raising the question of whether this purported solution denatured the intended activity.
The wearing of the headscarf was also criticized as a means to enforce peer pressure
on the girls not wearing it. One defense against this argument was that the ratio of Muslim girls to other girls was not always high in classrooms, and that scarf wearing did not necessarily reflect proselytizing intent; but a countervailing relevant issue was that the relevant group being pressured was Muslim girls not wearing the scarf, who could sometimes be endangered inside or outside school unless they submitted to wearing the scarf like their classmates.
Because of the absence of unambiguous law, action was taken on a case-by-case basis against students wearing ostensible religious garb, with differences of practice between establishments. School administrators, in such cases, were taken into legal, social and media quarrels far beyond their ordinary responsibilities. This was highlighted by the 1989 Affaire du Foulard ("the headscarf affair"), when three young girls were expelled from their school in Creil
, near Paris
, for wearing headscarves. This caused such an uproar that administrators realized something had to be done soon to regain control.
Because of these difficulties, public powers sought a more consistent approach. In 1989, the Minister of Education requested the legal analysis of the Conseil d'État on the issue of whether or not school administrators could, or should, expel students for wearing religious symbols, within the current framework of applicable regulations, laws, constitutional rights and international conventions. The general assembly of the Conseil gave a detailed analysis, containing the following opinion:
On 2 November 1992, the Conseil ruled that a school regulation prohibiting all religious, philosophical or religious signs, including in wearing, was excessively sweeping and against the principle of laïcité
.
On 14 March 1994, the Conseil ruled that a school regulation prohibiting any headgear
was excessive (the intent of this regulation was to prohibit the wearing of certain religious signs). The Conseil found that this regulation was excessively sweeping, without a clear need for it to be so.
On 10 March 1995, the Conseil upheld the expelling of three students from a highschool, on the basis that the three students gravely perturbed classes, infringing on school rules and the alleged prohibition of proselytism. One factor was the insistence of the students on wearing the scarf during sports classes, which was deemed inappropriate attire for such an activity. It also upheld some stipulations of the school regulations which restricted the wearing of signs of a religious, philosophical or political character, with the same legal analysis as the 1989 one cited above.
On 11 September 1995, three families appealed before the Conseil rulings of lower administrative courts, which had upheld decisions by high schools to exclude their daughters because they wore the veil; and the Minister of Education appealed rulings of lower courts that had declared illegal three exclusion decisions. The actual legal reasons differed slightly; however, in every case, on 27 November 1996, the Conseil ruled that the children had been inappropriately expelled, considering that the headscarf worn by the student, while it expressed the student's religious beliefs, did not have a protest or ostentatious character, nor did wearing it constitute in any case an act of pressure or proselytism.
The opinion and the decisions of the Conseil, which established some kind of case law
, still left a considerable margin of appreciation to school administrators, which led to many tensions and embarrassments. It was thus argued that clear and consistent rules should be enacted.
set up an investigative committee (commission Stasi
) to examine how the principle of laïcité
should apply in practice. It consisted of 20 people headed by Bernard Stasi
, then ombudsman
of France (médiateur de la République). While an obvious focus of the commission was wearing religious attire in public schools, the commission noted in its report that the issues went further.
The Stasi Commission published its report on 11 December 2003, considering that ostentatious displays of religion violated the secular rules of the French school system. The report recommended a law against pupils wearing "conspicuous" signs of belonging to a religion, meaning any visible symbol meant to be easily noticed by others. Prohibited items would include headscarves
for Muslim girls, yarmulkes for Jewish boys, and turban
s for Sikh
boys. The Commission recommended allowing the wearing of discreet symbols of faith such as small crosses, Stars of David
or Fatima's hands.
The Senate commission based its report on multiple sources: school representatives, headmasters, teachers; political associations, such as Ni Putes Ni Soumises
or SOS Racisme
; representatives of the main religions; and leaders of human-rights organizations.
The Commission's report emphasised that publicly funded schools in France should transmit knowledge, teach students critical awareness, assure autonomy and openness to cultural diversity, and encourage personal development
. Schooling aims both to train students for a professional career, and to make them into good citizens of the French Republic. The report states that such a mission presupposes fixed common rules, like gender equality
and respect for secularity
.
Most of the debate has centred on hijab
– the Islamic dress code, which may include a headscarf
for women, but more generally, on the wearing of religious or political symbols in schools. The wearing of headscarves in school started comparatively recently in mainland France (since the late 1980s), and has become the focus of the conflict. The increasing number of visible headscarves has been attributed by some to a rise in extremist activity in France, in particular in poor immigrant suburbs. However intellectuals such as Xavier Ternisien of Le Monde Diplomatique have maintained that the indubitable rise in religious observance is not linked with Islamic extremism, but with the frustration of children of immigrants no longer accepting to remain invisible as their parents often were. Further it is often associated with the idea of Muslim communities feeling settled and established in, and thus a part of, in French society such that they feel comfortable in expressing their identity.
The Commission identified the following positions with regard to wearing the Muslim headscarf:
The purpose of dressing according to hijab varies from person to person. Some women see the headscarf as a way to preserve their modesty and prevent any sexual attractions as in western countries. Some see it as a form of liberation above the sexualisation and consumerism of modern society. Others see it as a patriarchal article intended to keep women hidden and subservient.
The representatives of the main religions and leaders of human rights organisations have 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 that restricts personal freedom, and encourage Muslim girls to drop out of schools if they feel forced to choose between schooling and their faith.
The Commission said that the Republic must clarify this situation.
A section of the report which received less media attention recommended that the school system make Yom Kippur
and Eid
(festival) into vacation days each year: currently, only some Christian holidays are vacation days (see Holidays in France); students who want to celebrate other festivities have to take some work day off with the authorisation of their parents. However for critics and Muslims this did not balance out affairs: the banning of Muslims girls from freely choosing to wear an article of faith, seen by them as a religious obligation, could not be balanced with the permission to celebrate a religious festival, which is not obligatory at all.
The report also recommended enacting a ban on conspicuous symbols of political affiliation. The French National Assembly
has not taken up these proposals.
The Commission also noted that occasionally pupils refuse to attend school because of the presence of teachers of the opposite sex, or refuse to attend certain classes (such as gymnastics or swimming lessons). The Commission suggested that only schools or state-recognised doctors (not simply parents) should have the right to grant exemptions.
decided to act on the part of the Stasi report which recommended banning conspicuous religious symbols from schools. This meant that the legislature could adopt the recommendations, according to the emergency procedure, in January or February, ready for application at the start of the next school year in September 2004.
On 10 February 2004 the lower house
voted by a large majority (494 for, 36 against, 31 abstentions) in support of the ban, which includes the caveat that the ban will be reviewed after it has operated for one year.
The initiators of the law are said to have particularly targeted two items of clothing
: the headscarf and the veil (French: foulard and voile respectively); however the law mentions neither and just addresses "ostentatious" ("conspicuous") symbols. Because of its terse, broad, vague terms, the law will leave a lot of its interpretation to the administrative and judicial authorities.
The headscarf (sometimes referred to as the hijab
in both French and English) covers the hair, ears, neck, and sometimes the shoulders, but not the face. Most Muslim girls who cover their heads in school wear such a headscarf. More rarely, girls may also wear a complete dress covering their body (djelbab). The full or Afghan burka
, which covers the entire body except for a slit or grille to see through, occurs more commonly as the dress of an adult woman than that of a schoolgirl. A recent controversy occurred when a mother who wore a full burka became a representative of parents in a city school. Rather than encourage public participation of such women, her participation in school deliberations while entirely covered was highly criticised. It was finally tolerated.
In order to enforce the law, effective decisions whether certain items are "ostentatious" or not will have to be taken. In order to achieve that:
The law itself may not be challenged before French courts (since this would have warranted action before the Constitutional Council
before the signing of the law); however, the courts may significantly curtail its application — especially given the inherent margin of appreciation of what is ostentatious or not.
The law will apply in France and its overseas territories (which France administers as a part of its metropolitan territory), but it is likely that appropriate enforcement measures will depend on the local context, given the margin of appreciation offered by the law. Overseas Countries and Territories with a large Muslim community will receive some exemptions. For example, it was suggested that Mayotte
girls may wear small bandana
s (salouva) and light veil
s (kishall).
In 2004, French Cardinal Bernard Panafieu, the Archbishop
of Marseilles called the ban "unenforceable." While agreeing that some Muslim immigrants have had trouble adjusting to a "lay, pluralistic society," he asserted that the ban was wrong as it prevented Muslims from "asserting their identity" and that it would be "better to act through persuasion than by compulsion" if the state wanted to limit the use of religious symbols.
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. 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. Among surveyed Muslim women, 49% approved the proposed law, and 43% opposed it.
Complex reasons may influence why an individual either supports or opposes this amendment. They range from ensuring sex equality, preventing girls from being pressured into wearing the headscarf, or a desire to see the Muslim community assimilated into French society on the one hand; to upholding freedoms of expression or conscience or religion, preventing the state from imposing restrictions on what a women can or cannot wear, preventing state victimisation of a minority group and opposing what may be seen as discrimination against Muslims or 'the other'.
's National Front
, a party advocating anti-immigration policies, did not support it, while the Trotskyist political party Workers' Struggle
did.
Some arguments against banning headscarves from schools include:
; the European Court of Human Rights upheld the laws of Turkey, which are more restrictive than the French law; it therefore seems highly unlikely it would declare the French law contrary to the Convention.
Another piece of legal criticism is that a full-fledged law was not needed to enforce a measure that basically amounts to a new set of school regulations. Any binding document of lesser value (such as a décret or an arrêté ministeriel) would have had a similar effect. Since the writing of the Napoleonic Code
, a principle of French law has been that it must be, in the words of the great legislator Portalis
, "general and abstract." Critics therefore argue that, by legislating on issues that could be solved with texts other than laws, the French legislature lowers the values of the law in general. Article 34 of the Constitution of France
vests power in Parliament to legislate on the "fundamental principles of teaching", leaving the application of these principles to the executive branch. By legislating on such minutiae, the argument goes, Parliament may have overstepped the "domain of the law" (domaine de la loi) that is set out by the Constitution only for the sake of pleasing the media and some interest groups.
However, a counter-argument is that the Conseil d'État, ruling according to current statute law, considered that sweeping prohibitions of religious attire or headgear by administrative authorities was contrary to law.
stated:
In October 2004 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams
, in his Chatham lecture in Oxford criticised the French government's position on laïcité.
Criticism of the law was particularly vocal in the United States. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
, appointed by the US government, declared in its 2004 report:
Similar arguments were made at the time by American anti-racist activist, Sharon Smith, who added the claim that Muslim women in France opposing the 2004 law were fighting against the same "state-imposed oppression" as women in Afghanistan were opposing by seeking freedom to choose to refrain from wearing burkas.
In September 2005, the Ministry of Education reported that only 12 students showed up with distinctive religious signs in the first week of classes, compared to 639 in the preceding year. A number of students have elected to take distance-learning classes from CNED
. There is a case of a Sikh
student in the académie of Créteil
, who refused to remove his turban
.
As a consequence of the law, the years following the ban has seen an increasing number of Islamic secondary schools
being established, Muslim female students increasingly choosing to study at home, some shaving their hair, and others migrating away from France with their families.
The French decision caused a strong cry from many Muslims all over the world seeing it as a violation of freedom of practicing their religion. In addition to protests in Paris, there were also protests in other European cities and other countries, especially Muslim countries, worldwide when the law was enacted. Thousands of Muslim women demonstrated across universities in Egypt
against the French decision. There were also protests in France by many Muslim groups.
principles. To allow disobedience on this basis, however, would mean legitimizing many Muslims' belief that the laws of France do not apply to them. In Seine Saint Denis, for example, mothers of children in primary schools have often not been allowed to accompany school visits (to the gym or the museum) if the mothers wear a headscarf. In Montreuil a mobilisation of parents compelled a headmistress to accept the participation of a mother wearing a headscarf at the school fête.
Occasionally, mayors have refused to allow women wearing headscarves to act as witnesses at weddings, or to receive their naturalization papers.
One or two universities have attempted to ban students who wear headscarves, but most have not.
In 2007 a petition was launched to ban headscarves in universities; it obtained considerable support but not enough for it to enter public debate on a large scale.
Religious symbolism
Religious symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork, events, or natural phenomena, by a religion. Religions view religious texts, rituals, and works of art as symbols of compelling ideas or ideals...
in French public
Education in France
The French educational system is highly centralized, organized, and ramified. It is divided into three different stages:* the primary education ;* secondary education ;...
(i.e. government-operated) primary and secondary schools
Secondary education in France
In France, secondary education is in two stages:* collèges cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14...
. The law is an amendment to the French Code of Education that expands principles founded in existing French law, especially the constitutional requirement of laïcité
Laïcité
French secularism, in French, laïcité is a concept denoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs. French secularism has a long history but the current regime is based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of...
: the separation of state and religious activities.
The bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
passed France's national legislature and was signed into law by President Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
on 15 March 2004 (thus the technical name is law 2004-228 of 15 March 2004) and came into effect on 2 September 2004, at the beginning of the new school year. The full title of the law is (literally "Law #2004-228 of March 15, 2004 concerning, as an application of the principle of the separation of church and state, the wearing of symbols or garb which show religious affiliation in public primary and secondary schools").
The law does not mention any particular symbol, and thus bans all Christian (veil, signs), Muslim (veil, signs), and other minor religions' signs. But it is considered by many to specifically target the wearing of headscarves (a khimar
Sartorial hijab
This list of types of sartorial hijab indexes styles of clothing found in predominantly Muslim societies commonly associated with the word hijab...
, considered by most Muslims to be an obligatory article of faith as part of hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
["modesty"]) by Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
schoolgirls. For this reason, it is occasionally referred to as the French headscarf ban in the foreign press.
Islamic view of headscarves
Hijab is an Islamic duty prescribed on all Muslims, though in the matter discussed in this article it applies overwhelmingly to women. Hijab is often equated with the idea of modesty in all senses including personal, physical and social. While it prescribes restrictions and practices for both men (such as, for example, restraining ones thoughts from objectification of women and covering the aspects of oneself that attract others to them, incorporating the chest and between the navel and knee for many Muslims) and women, it is most known for its religious prescription for a women to dress modestly and cover her hair.While for some Muslims the concept of hijab is seen as balanced and consistent with ideas of gender equality, others see the religious prescription on female covering as chauvinistic, patriarchal, oppressive and an enforcement on women and against their rights. All mainstream Muslim scholars agree Islam prohibits any sort of compulsion in aspects of faith. Therefore most Muslims concede outright that the forcing of women to wear the headscarf is against Islamic precepts and cannot be accepted.
A number of Islamic feminists see the wearing of the headscarf, and particularly of the full-face veil such as the niqāb
Niqab
A niqab is a cloth which covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of sartorial hijāb...
, as oppressive of women. The influential French activist and politician Fadela Amara
Fadela Amara
Fadéla Amara, also known as Fatiha Amara is a French feminist and politician, who began her political life as an advocate for women in the impoverished banlieues. She was the Secretary of State for Urban Policies in the conservative Union for a Popular Movement government of French Prime Minister...
has thus stated: "The veil is the visible symbol of the subjugation of women, and therefore has no place in the mixed, secular spaces
Laïcité
French secularism, in French, laïcité is a concept denoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs. French secularism has a long history but the current regime is based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of...
of France's public school system
Education in France
The French educational system is highly centralized, organized, and ramified. It is divided into three different stages:* the primary education ;* secondary education ;...
." Hedi Mhenni likewise expressed support for Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
's ban on the veil: "If today we accept the headscarf, tomorrow we'll accept that women's rights to work and vote and receive an education be banned and they'll be seen as just a tool for reproduction and housework."
French education system
- government-operated schools (enseignement public);
- private schools receiving government subsidies (enseignement privé sous contrat), the vast majority of private schools; and
- private schools not receiving government subsidies (enseignement privé hors contrat).
Schools in the first two categories are required to apply the same national curricula as defined by the Ministry of Education
Minister of National Education (France)
The Ministry of National Education, Youth, and Sport , or simply "Minister of National Education," as the title has changed no small number of times in the course of the Fifth Republic) is the French government cabinet member charged with running France's public educational system and with the...
. The curriculum for schools in the third category is free, provided that students receive at least some minimal skills in writing, mathematics, etc. The law discussed in this article only applies to government-operated schools, in the first category.
The French government highly subsidises private elementary and secondary schools, even those affiliated with religious organizations, as long as they apply the same curriculum as the public schools, with the same academic standards, and that do not discriminate on grounds of religious affiliation nor make religious education compulsory. It is for instance common that children of agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
or otherwise non-religious families, or children of families from other religions, are put in Catholic school
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
s, if their parents judge these schools to offer better conditions of education. Consequently, families can use private schools at moderate costs. While there are no accessible official national statistics on the costs of private schools, typical prices per year for low-income families are in the range of a few hundred euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s. The average costs are €500 a year per student; however, this statistic includes very expensive, exclusive schools. In addition, according to the figures from the secretariat, more than half of schools have established a price schedule taking into account a family's income; as a result, costs to parents can be as little as €20 to €30 per school month per student. As an element of comparison, this is approximately twice the monthly price for a telephone landline in France. Newspapers have reported that on some occasions, the costs of private schooling of students who would not accept the ban on religious garbs were thus paid for by the state rather than those families.
In addition, the French government operates a distant learning agency, the CNED
Centre national d'enseignement à distance
The National Centre for Distance Education is a French public institution under the oversight of the department of education dedicated to providing distance learning material....
, which is another solution for families impacted by the normal rules or schedules of public schools.
History
Since 1905, France has had a law requiring separation of church and state1905 French law on the separation of Church and State
The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and State was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on 9 December 1905. Enacted during the Third Republic, it established state secularism in France...
, prohibiting the state from recognizing or funding any religion. Schools directly operated by the national or local governments must not endorse or promote any religious dogma (whether endorsing an existing religion or endorsing atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
or any other philosophy). Schools funded totally or in part by the national and local governments by law must not force students into religious education; they should remain equally accessible to children of any, or no, faith. For example, even though a majority of the population nominally professes Catholicism
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
(although far fewer regularly practice Catholicism), government-operated French schools have no communal prayers
School prayer
School prayer in its common usage refers to state-approved prayer by students in state schools. Depending on the country and the type of school, organized prayer may be required, permitted, or prohibited...
, religious assemblies, or Christian cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
es on the walls. The Constitution of France
Constitution of France
The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 1946. Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth...
says that France is a laïque
Laïcité
French secularism, in French, laïcité is a concept denoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs. French secularism has a long history but the current regime is based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of...
(roughly, secular) Republic.
In France, historically, differences between religions (or between religious and non-religious people) have often resulted in deep divisions of society, from the 16th-century Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
to the late 19th-century Dreyfus Affair
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
. The Roman Catholic Church was the dominating religion until the Revolution of 1789, when the French people sought to overthrow not only the monarchy and its supporters, but also the whole social and political system, including the Church. Although the Church survived the revolution, according to the ideology of the new republic it could no longer remain a separate estate with its own possessions. Therefore, the new government confiscated the land and assets belonging to the Church and auctioned them off to help resolve the financial problems that had led to the revolution. The state also attempted a huge restructuring of the Church hierarchy and demanded that the clergy swear allegiance to the French government ahead of the Church. Only a small percentage of priests complied with this request, but nevertheless this attempt to bring the Catholic Church under state control can be seen as the beginning of the development of secularism
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
in France.
Roman Catholicism was recognised as the faith of the majority of French citizens, but Napoleon also named Judaism and the Lutheran and Reformed Churches as being officially recognised by the state. Although these four 'official' religions received state funding and protection (until the 1905 law as above), none of them were given the status as the religion of the state. France had begun to view faith as a matter for each individual citizen rather than for a nation as a whole.
As a result of this history, religious manifestations are considered undesirable in government-operated schools; primary and secondary schools are supposed to be neutral spaces where children can learn away from political or religious pressures, controversies and quarrels. Because of this neutrality requirement, students are normally prohibited from conducting religious proselytising
Proselytism
Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
or political activism on the premises.
Civil servants are expected to stay neutral with respect to politics or religion when they discharge their duties. More generally, they are expected to keep a certain reserve and not make comments or demonstrations that may be interpreted as political, religious, or other bias in the course of their duties or as an endorsement of particular religious or partisan political views by the government. Teaching personnel in government-operated schools must not, by law, endorse any political or religious point of view; they may also face sanctions for wearing overt religious symbols.
1980s and 1990s
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
student wearing a cross, or a Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
boy wearing a kippah
Kippah
A kippah or kipa , also known as a yarmulke , kapele , is a hemispherical or platter-shaped head cover, usually made of cloth, often worn by Orthodox Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that their head be covered at all times, and sometimes worn by both men and, less frequently, women...
. However, there was some leeway and uncertainty in those matters, and occasionally some students faced disciplinary action for ostentatious attire.
Many people find crosses and yarmulkes acceptable, but not headscarves, for a variety of reasons. Some feminists do not consider them as religious symbols, but as symbols of female alienation, or dangerous signs of mounting communautarisme (ethnicisation of social relationships, which the French do not view favorably), rising Islamist movements, or attacks on the Republic, are sometimes deemed 'foreign' and 'unfrench'. However, some people regard the wearing of headscarves as a feminist choice and do not view this as fundamentally different from other choices relating to clothing. The fact that most Muslims in France come from former French colonies has added a racist/antiracist tint to the debate. The issue has deeply divided France and debate has raged on ever since.
The issue of religion has wider implications than the mere wearing of headscarves, which contributed to the complexity of the debate. Occasionally, Muslim students have refused to attend certain classes when they or those influencing them deemed aspects of their faith to be contradicted (such as swimming classes or physical education); or insisted on attending them in Islamic garb, thus raising the question of whether this purported solution denatured the intended activity.
The wearing of the headscarf was also criticized as a means to enforce peer pressure
Peer pressure
Peer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. Social groups affected include membership groups, when the individual is "formally" a member , or a social clique...
on the girls not wearing it. One defense against this argument was that the ratio of Muslim girls to other girls was not always high in classrooms, and that scarf wearing did not necessarily reflect proselytizing intent; but a countervailing relevant issue was that the relevant group being pressured was Muslim girls not wearing the scarf, who could sometimes be endangered inside or outside school unless they submitted to wearing the scarf like their classmates.
Because of the absence of unambiguous law, action was taken on a case-by-case basis against students wearing ostensible religious garb, with differences of practice between establishments. School administrators, in such cases, were taken into legal, social and media quarrels far beyond their ordinary responsibilities. This was highlighted by the 1989 Affaire du Foulard ("the headscarf affair"), when three young girls were expelled from their school in Creil
Creil
Creil is a large town in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.-History:Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site, as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belonging to a Gaulish fortress or protected camp.The city itself...
, near Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, for wearing headscarves. This caused such an uproar that administrators realized something had to be done soon to regain control.
Because of these difficulties, public powers sought a more consistent approach. In 1989, the Minister of Education requested the legal analysis of the Conseil d'État on the issue of whether or not school administrators could, or should, expel students for wearing religious symbols, within the current framework of applicable regulations, laws, constitutional rights and international conventions. The general assembly of the Conseil gave a detailed analysis, containing the following opinion:
It results from the above that, in teaching establishments, the wearing by students of symbols by which they intend to manifest their religious affiliation is not by itself incompatible with the principle of laïcité, as it constitutes the free exercise of freedom of expressionFreedom of speechFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
and of manifestation of religious creeds, but that this freedom should not allow students to sport signs of religious affiliation that, due to their nature, or the conditions in which they are worn individually or collectively, or due to their ostentatious and provocative character, would constitute an act of pressure, provocation, proselytismProselytismProselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
or propagandaPropagandaPropaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
, or would harm the dignity or the freedom of the student or other members of the educative community, or would compromise their health or safety, or would perturb the educational activities or the education role of the teaching personnel, or would trouble public order in the establishment or the normal functioning of the public service.
On 2 November 1992, the Conseil ruled that a school regulation prohibiting all religious, philosophical or religious signs, including in wearing, was excessively sweeping and against the principle of laïcité
Laïcité
French secularism, in French, laïcité is a concept denoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs. French secularism has a long history but the current regime is based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of...
.
On 14 March 1994, the Conseil ruled that a school regulation prohibiting any headgear
Headgear
Headgear, headwear or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head.Headgear serve a variety of purposes:...
was excessive (the intent of this regulation was to prohibit the wearing of certain religious signs). The Conseil found that this regulation was excessively sweeping, without a clear need for it to be so.
On 10 March 1995, the Conseil upheld the expelling of three students from a highschool, on the basis that the three students gravely perturbed classes, infringing on school rules and the alleged prohibition of proselytism. One factor was the insistence of the students on wearing the scarf during sports classes, which was deemed inappropriate attire for such an activity. It also upheld some stipulations of the school regulations which restricted the wearing of signs of a religious, philosophical or political character, with the same legal analysis as the 1989 one cited above.
On 11 September 1995, three families appealed before the Conseil rulings of lower administrative courts, which had upheld decisions by high schools to exclude their daughters because they wore the veil; and the Minister of Education appealed rulings of lower courts that had declared illegal three exclusion decisions. The actual legal reasons differed slightly; however, in every case, on 27 November 1996, the Conseil ruled that the children had been inappropriately expelled, considering that the headscarf worn by the student, while it expressed the student's religious beliefs, did not have a protest or ostentatious character, nor did wearing it constitute in any case an act of pressure or proselytism.
The opinion and the decisions of the Conseil, which established some kind of case law
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
, still left a considerable margin of appreciation to school administrators, which led to many tensions and embarrassments. It was thus argued that clear and consistent rules should be enacted.
Stasi commission's report
In July 2003, French President Jacques ChiracJacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
set up an investigative committee (commission Stasi
Commission Stasi
The French commission Stasi is a commission set up to reflect upon the application of the laïcité principle. Named after the chair Bernard Stasi, ombudsman of the Republic since 1998, and consisting of 20 members , it was set up by the president of the Republic Jacques Chirac on 3 July 2003...
) to examine how the principle of laïcité
Laïcité
French secularism, in French, laïcité is a concept denoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs. French secularism has a long history but the current regime is based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of...
should apply in practice. It consisted of 20 people headed by Bernard Stasi
Bernard Stasi
Bernard Stasi was a French politician. He is the son of Italo-Mexican immigrants. Stasi served as Minister for Overseas Departments and Territories from 2 April 1973 to 27 February 1974....
, then ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
of France (médiateur de la République). While an obvious focus of the commission was wearing religious attire in public schools, the commission noted in its report that the issues went further.
The Stasi Commission published its report on 11 December 2003, considering that ostentatious displays of religion violated the secular rules of the French school system. The report recommended a law against pupils wearing "conspicuous" signs of belonging to a religion, meaning any visible symbol meant to be easily noticed by others. Prohibited items would include headscarves
Headscarf
Headscarves or head scarves are scarves covering most or all of the top of a woman's hair and her head. Headscarves may be worn for a variety of purposes, such as for warmth, for sanitation, for fashion or social distinction; with religious significance, to hide baldness, out of modesty, or other...
for Muslim girls, yarmulkes for Jewish boys, and turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...
s for Sikh
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
boys. The Commission recommended allowing the wearing of discreet symbols of faith such as small crosses, Stars of David
Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
or Fatima's hands.
The Senate commission based its report on multiple sources: school representatives, headmasters, teachers; political associations, such as Ni Putes Ni Soumises
Ni Putes Ni Soumises
Ni Putes Ni Soumises is a French feminist movement, founded in 2002, which has secured the recognition of the French press and the National Assembly of France. It is generally dependent on public funding...
or SOS Racisme
SOS Racisme
SOS Racisme is a French anti-racist NGO, founded in 1984. Its Spanish counterpart, SOS Racismo, is based in Barcelona.-Activities:SOS Racisme's main goal is to fight racial discrimination. Often the plaintiff in discrimination trials, the organization also offers support to immigrants and racial...
; representatives of the main religions; and leaders of human-rights organizations.
Personal development
Personal development includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitates employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations...
. Schooling aims both to train students for a professional career, and to make them into good citizens of the French Republic. The report states that such a mission presupposes fixed common rules, like gender equality
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
and respect for secularity
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
.
Most of the debate has centred on hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
– the Islamic dress code, which may include a headscarf
Headscarf
Headscarves or head scarves are scarves covering most or all of the top of a woman's hair and her head. Headscarves may be worn for a variety of purposes, such as for warmth, for sanitation, for fashion or social distinction; with religious significance, to hide baldness, out of modesty, or other...
for women, but more generally, on the wearing of religious or political symbols in schools. The wearing of headscarves in school started comparatively recently in mainland France (since the late 1980s), and has become the focus of the conflict. The increasing number of visible headscarves has been attributed by some to a rise in extremist activity in France, in particular in poor immigrant suburbs. However intellectuals such as Xavier Ternisien of Le Monde Diplomatique have maintained that the indubitable rise in religious observance is not linked with Islamic extremism, but with the frustration of children of immigrants no longer accepting to remain invisible as their parents often were. Further it is often associated with the idea of Muslim communities feeling settled and established in, and thus a part of, in French society such that they feel comfortable in expressing their identity.
The Commission identified the following positions with regard to wearing the Muslim headscarf:
- For those wearing it, the headscarf can have different meanings. The wearers may have exercised a free personal choice to wear the headscarf; or external pressure may have forced them to do so. Most French people find this idea of constraint or pressure particularly intolerable when it relates to young girls (some girls start wearing a headscarf before the age of 11).
The purpose of dressing according to hijab varies from person to person. Some women see the headscarf as a way to preserve their modesty and prevent any sexual attractions as in western countries. Some see it as a form of liberation above the sexualisation and consumerism of modern society. Others see it as a patriarchal article intended to keep women hidden and subservient.
The representatives of the main religions and leaders of human rights organisations have 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 that restricts personal freedom, and encourage Muslim girls to drop out of schools if they feel forced to choose between schooling and their faith.
The Commission said that the Republic must clarify this situation.
A section of the report which received less media attention recommended that the school system make Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
and Eid
Eid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting . Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast"...
(festival) into vacation days each year: currently, only some Christian holidays are vacation days (see Holidays in France); students who want to celebrate other festivities have to take some work day off with the authorisation of their parents. However for critics and Muslims this did not balance out affairs: the banning of Muslims girls from freely choosing to wear an article of faith, seen by them as a religious obligation, could not be balanced with the permission to celebrate a religious festival, which is not obligatory at all.
The report also recommended enacting a ban on conspicuous symbols of political affiliation. The French National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
has not taken up these proposals.
The Commission also noted that occasionally pupils refuse to attend school because of the presence of teachers of the opposite sex, or refuse to attend certain classes (such as gymnastics or swimming lessons). The Commission suggested that only schools or state-recognised doctors (not simply parents) should have the right to grant exemptions.
Law creation and interpretations
In December 2003, President Jacques ChiracJacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
decided to act on the part of the Stasi report which recommended banning conspicuous religious symbols from schools. This meant that the legislature could adopt the recommendations, according to the emergency procedure, in January or February, ready for application at the start of the next school year in September 2004.
On 10 February 2004 the lower house
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
voted by a large majority (494 for, 36 against, 31 abstentions) in support of the ban, which includes the caveat that the ban will be reviewed after it has operated for one year.
The initiators of the law are said to have particularly targeted two items of clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
: the headscarf and the veil (French: foulard and voile respectively); however the law mentions neither and just addresses "ostentatious" ("conspicuous") symbols. Because of its terse, broad, vague terms, the law will leave a lot of its interpretation to the administrative and judicial authorities.
The headscarf (sometimes referred to as the hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
in both French and English) covers the hair, ears, neck, and sometimes the shoulders, but not the face. Most Muslim girls who cover their heads in school wear such a headscarf. More rarely, girls may also wear a complete dress covering their body (djelbab). The full or Afghan burka
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
, which covers the entire body except for a slit or grille to see through, occurs more commonly as the dress of an adult woman than that of a schoolgirl. A recent controversy occurred when a mother who wore a full burka became a representative of parents in a city school. Rather than encourage public participation of such women, her participation in school deliberations while entirely covered was highly criticised. It was finally tolerated.
In order to enforce the law, effective decisions whether certain items are "ostentatious" or not will have to be taken. In order to achieve that:
- the Minister of Education will issue circulaires, or instructions for its services; it seems that large crosses, full hijabs or yarmulkes would be banned, while small symbols such as small Stars of DavidStar of DavidThe Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
or crosses in pendants would not be; - headmasters will have to judge whether particular attire is or not acceptable with respect to the law;
- if necessary, families will go to administrative courts to challenge the school authorities' decision; a final decision may not be reached until the Conseil d'État at litigation (supreme administrative court), decides some points of jurisprudenceJurisprudenceJurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
.
The law itself may not be challenged before French courts (since this would have warranted action before the Constitutional Council
Constitutional Council of France
The Constitutional Council is the highest constitutional authority in France. It was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958, and its duty is to ensure that the principles and rules of the constitution are upheld.Its main activity is to rule on whether proposed...
before the signing of the law); however, the courts may significantly curtail its application — especially given the inherent margin of appreciation of what is ostentatious or not.
The law will apply in France and its overseas territories (which France administers as a part of its metropolitan territory), but it is likely that appropriate enforcement measures will depend on the local context, given the margin of appreciation offered by the law. Overseas Countries and Territories with a large Muslim community will receive some exemptions. For example, it was suggested that Mayotte
Mayotte
Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...
girls may wear small bandana
Bandana
Bandana can refer to:*Another name for a kerchief*Bandana *Bandana *Bandana, Kentucky, a small town in the United States*Y Bandana, a Welsh alternative rock band.**Y Bandana , their self-titled debut album....
s (salouva) and light veil
Veil
A veil is an article of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, that is intended to cover some part of the head or face.One view is that as a religious item, it is intended to show honor to an object or space...
s (kishall).
France
The proposed ban was one of the most controversial political issues in France for several decades, with both sides of the political spectrum being split on the issue.In 2004, French Cardinal Bernard Panafieu, the Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Marseilles called the ban "unenforceable." While agreeing that some Muslim immigrants have had trouble adjusting to a "lay, pluralistic society," he asserted that the ban was wrong as it prevented Muslims from "asserting their identity" and that it would be "better to act through persuasion than by compulsion" if the state wanted to limit the use of religious symbols.
Population
On February 14, 2004, the Associated Press reported that "Thousands of people, many of them women wearing headscarves, 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
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
showed 78% of teachers in favour. A February 2004 survey by CSA for Le Parisien
Le Parisien
Le Parisien is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It was established as Le Parisien libéré by Émilien Amaury in 1944, and the name was changed to the current one in 1986...
showed 69% of the population for the ban and 29% against. For Muslims in France, the February survey showed 42% for and 53% against. Among surveyed Muslim women, 49% approved the proposed law, and 43% opposed it.
Complex reasons may influence why an individual either supports or opposes this amendment. They range from ensuring sex equality, preventing girls from being pressured into wearing the headscarf, or a desire to see the Muslim community assimilated into French society on the one hand; to upholding freedoms of expression or conscience or religion, preventing the state from imposing restrictions on what a women can or cannot wear, preventing state victimisation of a minority group and opposing what may be seen as discrimination against Muslims or 'the other'.
Political reactions
While all major political parties were somewhat divided on the issue, all major parties (the majority UMP and UDF, the opposition PS) supported the law. Jean-Marie Le PenJean-Marie Le Pen
Jean-Marie Le Pen is a French far right-wing and nationalist politician who is founder and former president of the Front National party. Le Pen has run for the French presidency five times, most notably in 2002, when in a surprise upset he came second, polling more votes in the first round than...
's National Front
Front National (France)
The National Front is a political party in France. The party was founded in 1972, seeking to unify a variety of French far-right currents of the time. Jean-Marie Le Pen was the party's first leader and the undisputed centre of the party from its start until his resignation in 2011...
, a party advocating anti-immigration policies, did not support it, while the Trotskyist political party Workers' Struggle
Workers' Struggle
Lutte Ouvrière is the usual name under which the Union Communiste , a French Trotskyist political party, is known, after the name of its weekly paper. Arlette Laguiller has been its spokeswoman since 1973 and has run in each presidential election, but Robert Barcia was its founder and central...
did.
Some arguments against banning headscarves from schools include:
- laïcité should be restricted to the institution - the pupils should retain full religious freedoms in a democratic society
- evidence that most girls wear it by choice
- if a girl decides to wear one freely, the ban would force her to choose between schooling and her faith
- the ban has been considered racist, since it has been used almost exclusively against Muslims, a group which in France has origins mostly in former French colonies in North Africa. While Islam is not a race, it has become a racial issue because the majority of Muslims in France are North African, and some of the black population in France is Muslim.
Legal arguments
Some critics have raised a legal point: they see the law as incompatible with the European convention on fundamental human rights. The Stasi Commission dismissed that argument: The European Court in Strasbourg protects laïcité 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 that the expression of an individual's religion in the French state has to comply with 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. Similar debates on the education of girls in headscarves have long raged in secular-yet-Muslim TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
; the European Court of Human Rights upheld the laws of Turkey, which are more restrictive than the French law; it therefore seems highly unlikely it would declare the French law contrary to the Convention.
Another piece of legal criticism is that a full-fledged law was not needed to enforce a measure that basically amounts to a new set of school regulations. Any binding document of lesser value (such as a décret or an arrêté ministeriel) would have had a similar effect. Since the writing of the Napoleonic Code
Napoleonic code
The Napoleonic Code — or Code Napoléon — is the French civil code, established under Napoléon I in 1804. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified...
, a principle of French law has been that it must be, in the words of the great legislator Portalis
Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis
Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis was a French jurist and politician in time of the French Revolution and the First Empire...
, "general and abstract." Critics therefore argue that, by legislating on issues that could be solved with texts other than laws, the French legislature lowers the values of the law in general. Article 34 of the Constitution of France
Constitution of France
The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 1946. Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth...
vests power in Parliament to legislate on the "fundamental principles of teaching", leaving the application of these principles to the executive branch. By legislating on such minutiae, the argument goes, Parliament may have overstepped the "domain of the law" (domaine de la loi) that is set out by the Constitution only for the sake of pleasing the media and some interest groups.
However, a counter-argument is that the Conseil d'État, ruling according to current statute law, considered that sweeping prohibitions of religious attire or headgear by administrative authorities was contrary to law.
International
Some international human rights' organisations criticised the law. Human Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
stated:
The proposed law is an unwarranted infringement on the right to religious practice. For many Muslims, wearing a headscarf is not only about religious expression, it is about religious obligation.
In October 2004 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
, in his Chatham lecture in Oxford criticised the French government's position on laïcité.
Criticism of the law was particularly vocal in the United States. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate...
, appointed by the US government, declared in its 2004 report:
In February 2004, the Commission issued a public statement expressing concern over the proposed new law. The Commission expressed particular concern that the proposed restrictions may violate France’s international human rights commitments. The Commission also stated that though increased immigration in France in recent years has created new challenges for the French government, including integration of these immigrants into French society as well as problems of public order, these challenges should be addressed directly, and not by inappropriately limiting the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and belief. The French government’s promotion of its understanding of the principle of secularism should not result in violations of the internationally recognized individual right to freedom of religion or belief.
Anti-racist activist reactions
Many anti-racists outside of France condemned the law by highlighting what they believed to be its racist implications. Susan Price, an Australian activist, argued that "the wedge-politics of racism has always been used to divide the working class, which in France pulled off spectacular rolling strikes against the government in 2003," adding that "the current attack must also be seen as part of a continuum of racist policies which go back to the mid-1990s and the 'Fortress Europe' policies of the major European capitalist governments" designed "to appeal to the support base of Jean-Marie Le Pen's right-wing National Front (FN)."Similar arguments were made at the time by American anti-racist activist, Sharon Smith, who added the claim that Muslim women in France opposing the 2004 law were fighting against the same "state-imposed oppression" as women in Afghanistan were opposing by seeking freedom to choose to refrain from wearing burkas.
Enforcement
The law came into effect on 2 September 2004, with the new school year.In September 2005, the Ministry of Education reported that only 12 students showed up with distinctive religious signs in the first week of classes, compared to 639 in the preceding year. A number of students have elected to take distance-learning classes from CNED
Centre national d'enseignement à distance
The National Centre for Distance Education is a French public institution under the oversight of the department of education dedicated to providing distance learning material....
. There is a case of a Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
student in the académie of Créteil
Créteil
-Health:As of 1 January 2006, 27 pharmacies, about 60 dentists, about 60 general practitioners, 10 pediatricians, and a half-dozen ophthalmologists and dermatologists constitute the general medical staff of the city.Health facilities include:...
, who refused to remove his turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...
.
As a consequence of the law, the years following the ban has seen an increasing number of Islamic secondary schools
Madrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
being established, Muslim female students increasingly choosing to study at home, some shaving their hair, and others migrating away from France with their families.
The French decision caused a strong cry from many Muslims all over the world seeing it as a violation of freedom of practicing their religion. In addition to protests in Paris, there were also protests in other European cities and other countries, especially Muslim countries, worldwide when the law was enacted. Thousands of Muslim women demonstrated across universities in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
against the French decision. There were also protests in France by many Muslim groups.
Interpretation
There have been a number of cases where school or public authorities have attempted to apply the law to accompanying adults. Whilst this is allowed within the definition of the law, it may be perceived as being against the spirit, particularly within the Islamic community. Many Muslims believe the law to be unenforceable, as it is - by definition - against shariaSharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
principles. To allow disobedience on this basis, however, would mean legitimizing many Muslims' belief that the laws of France do not apply to them. In Seine Saint Denis, for example, mothers of children in primary schools have often not been allowed to accompany school visits (to the gym or the museum) if the mothers wear a headscarf. In Montreuil a mobilisation of parents compelled a headmistress to accept the participation of a mother wearing a headscarf at the school fête.
Occasionally, mayors have refused to allow women wearing headscarves to act as witnesses at weddings, or to receive their naturalization papers.
One or two universities have attempted to ban students who wear headscarves, but most have not.
In 2007 a petition was launched to ban headscarves in universities; it obtained considerable support but not enough for it to enter public debate on a large scale.
See also
- France debate over veils
- Islam in FranceIslam in FranceIslam is the second most widely practiced religion in France by number of worshippers, with an estimated total of 5 to 10 percent of the national population.-Statistics:...
- Islamic dress controversy in EuropeIslamic dress in EuropeIslamic dress in Europe, notably the variety of headdresses worn by Muslim women, has become a prominent symbol of the presence of Islam in western Europe. In several countries the adherence to hijab has led to political controversies and proposals for a legal ban...
- Feminism in FranceFeminism in FranceFeminism in France has its origins in the French Revolution. A few famous figures emerged during the 1871 Paris Commune, including Louise Michel, Russian-born Elisabeth Dmitrieff, Nathalie Lemel, and Renée Vivien .-French Revolution:...
- Civil religionCivil religionThe intended meaning of the term civil religion often varies according to whether one is a sociologist of religion or a professional political commentator...
- Shabina Begum caseShabina BegumR v Governors of Denbigh High School [2006] is the leading House of Lords case on the legal regulation of religious symbols and dress under the Human Rights Act 1998.-Facts:...
- a similar controversy in England - Religious PluralismReligious pluralismReligious pluralism is a loosely defined expression concerning acceptance of various religions, and is used in a number of related ways:* As the name of the worldview according to which one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus that at least some truths and true values...
English
- The deep roots of French secularism, article by Henri Astier on BBC News online, Sept 1st, 2004
- France: Religious Freedom in the Land of Voltaire
- The war of the headscarves (The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, February 7, 2004) - French MPs back headscarf ban (BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, February 10, 2004) - Eight different viewpoints on the headscarf from around Europe (BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, February 10, 2004) - Religious dress legal news and resources, JURISTJURISTJURIST is an online legal news service hosted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, powered by a staff of more than 40 law students working in Pittsburgh and other US locations under the direction of founding Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Professor Bernard Hibbitts, Research Director Jaclyn...
French
English
French
- The Law and the associated legislative process
- Law 2004-228 of March 15, 2004 (English translation)
- Parliamentary report on the law by Pascal Clément
- French SenateFrench SenateThe Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
, Legislative file on the law - French National AssemblyFrench National AssemblyThe French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
, Legislative file on the law
- Litigation
- Conseil d'État, November 2, 1992, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnDocument?base=JADE&nod=JGXAX1992X11X0000030394
- Conseil d'État, March 14, 1994, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnDocument?base=JADE&nod=JGXAX1994X03X0000045656
- Conseil d'État, March 10, 1995, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnDocument?base=JADE&nod=JGXAX1995X03X0000059981
- Conseil d'État, November 27, 1996: http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnDocument?base=JADE&nod=JGXCX1996X11X0000072663, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnDocument?base=JADE&nod=JGXCX1996X11X0000072686, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnDocument?base=JADE&nod=JGXCX1996X11X0000072719, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnDocument?base=JADE&nod=JGXCX1996X11X0000072723, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnDocument?base=JADE&nod=JGXCX1996X11X0000072724, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnDocument?base=JADE&nod=JGXCX1996X11X0000072726
- Conseil d'État, October 6, 2004: http://www.conseil-etat.fr/ce/jurispd/index_ac_ld0437.shtml,
- Conseil d'État, October 8, 2004: http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnDocument?base=JADE&nod=JGXCX2004X10X000000272926
- Cour administrative d'appel de Paris, July 19, 2005 http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnDocument?base=JADE&nod=J1XBX2005X07X000000501831
- Legal analyses and applicable jurisprudence
- Legal analyses on the principle of laïcité (decisions and opinions of the Conseil d'État)
- French Code of Education, legislative part
- Conseil d'État. Rapport public 2004. Jurisprudence et avis de 2003. Un siècle de laïcité (Etudes et documents n.55), La Documentation françaiseDocumentation françaiseThe direction de la Documentation française, known commercially as La Documentation française, is a French public administration charged with publishing general documentation on major newsworthy problems for French administrations and the French public...
, ISBN 2-11-005595-2 (online version, PDF, summary) - Conseil d'État, general assembly, section of the Interior, advice #346.893 - November 27, 1989