French law on secularism

Copy of the Law published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of France.

The French law on secularism (Law no. a religious affiliation in public colleges, schools and lycees, also known as the law of the veil) is a French law that prohibits wearing religious symbols in French public schools. It entered into force on September 2, 2004.

This law prohibits wearing "visible" (ie, visible and worn with the intention of being seen) of belonging to a religion. Among the items prohibited by this law would be the Muslim hijab, the Jewish kippah, the Sikh turban and large Christian crosses. It is always allowed, on the other hand, to wear discreet symbols such as small crosses, stars of David and hands of Fatima. The previous law left the decision in the hands of the director of each public school.

Background

The approval of this law is a consequence of various exclusions of Muslim students who refused to remove their Islamic veil in class during the year 2003.

In France, public education has been secular and republican since the approval in 1905 of the Law on the Separation of Church and State. This means that it was not authorized to express political or religious opinions in schools and high schools (institutes) throughout the country. Universities have always had their own laws, and secularism does not apply to them.

However, since the student protests of 1968, there has been greater flexibility in this regard, and it is common for History and Philosophy teachers to deal with political or religious issues in an objective and neutral way.

In 2003, a think-tank (the Stasi commission) found that ostensible religious symbols were in contradiction with the secular rules of the French school system.

In December 2003, French President Jacques Chirac decided to react according to the recommendations of the Stasi commission, having a law prepared that could be applied in September, coinciding with the new school year. On February 10, 2004, the French National Assembly voted in favor of the law by a large majority (494 to 36).

The Senate approved it definitively on March 4 with 276 votes in favor and 20 against.

Controversy

A large majority of French people, and in particular teachers, support the ban, while several Muslim organizations, along with some Jewish, Christian and civil organizations, have expressed their opposition to this law.

The organization Amnesty International has opposed the law.

Many Muslims argue that the hijab is in fact more cultural than religious clothing. The drafters of the law have admitted, on the other hand, that they did not take into account the small Sikh population of France. Men who follow the Sikh religion cover their heads with a turban, which may be prohibited as a result of law enforcement.

Another part of the Stasi commission report, discarded by Jacques Chirac and not taken up in law, had also recommended that non-Christian holidays such as Yom Kippur and Eid al-Adha be holidays in all schools.

Some critics have argued that the law is incompatible with the European Convention on Fundamental Human Rights. The Commission rejected this argument: The European Commission in Strasbourg protects secularism when it is a fundamental value of the State. It allows limiting freedom of expression in public services, especially when it is a way of protecting minors from external pressures. The Commission considers that the expression of one's religion in the French state must be compatible with the basic rules concerning the secular nature of the state as well as with the requirements of equality between the sexes and the safeguarding of the rights of minors..

However, public opinion was in favor of the law. A January 2004 poll for Agence France-Presse revealed that 78% of teachers were in favour. A February 2004 poll by CSA for Le Parisien showed that 69% of the population supported the ban, while 29% were against it. Among Muslim women surveyed, 49% supported the law and 43% opposed it.

Results

The school year that began in September 2004 was feared by both the education minister and academic rectors and directors of schools and institutes. On the first day of class, 639 veiled Muslim students showed up to class. After three weeks, and as a consequence of the support of the Muslim community for the French policy towards Iraq (two French journalists were then held hostage by an Iraqi terrorist group that justly demanded the abrogation of the law of the headscarf), more than 550 cases had been resolved through dialogue.

Of the rest, about 60 students decided to enroll in private education (essentially Catholic, which does not have to apply the law, and admits students of other denominations) or distance learning.

Finally, 48 students remained who refused to comply with the law and were expelled from their institutes or schools. It was also the case of three Sikh students.