France began enforcing the recently declared ban on abaya Muslim attire for women in schools by guaranteeing rigorous compliance on Monday, September 4.
The government said last month that the abaya would be prohibited in schools, citing violations of secularism in education standards that have already seen Muslim headscarves outlawed on the basis that they constitute a display of religious affiliation.
The measure pleased the political right, while the radical left said it was an assault to civil liberty.
“Things are going well this morning. There is no incident for the moment, we will continue all day to be vigilant so that the students understand the meaning of this rule,” said Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne as she visited a school in northern France.
She did, however, mention a “certain number” of schools where girls had entered wearing an abaya.
“Some young girls agreed to remove it. For the others, we will have discussions with them, and use educational approaches to explain that there is a law that is being applied,” she added.
The hard-left has accused the government of centrist President Emmanuel Macron of attempting to compete with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally by imposing the abaya ban and drifting farther to the right.
According to Education Minister Gabriel Attal, authorities have identified 513 schools that may be affected by the prohibition at the start of the school year.
France has approximately 45,000 schools, with 12 million students returning to school on Monday.
He stated that work had been done ahead of the start of the school year to determine which schools would have an issue, and that certified school inspectors will be assigned to specific schools.
However, Attal stated that he was opposed to enforcing a restriction on parents wearing religiously significant clothing when accompanying their children on school visits.
“There is a difference between what happens in school and what happens outside school. What matters to me is what happens in school,” he said.
Some prominent conservatives have urged the government to require pupils to wear school uniforms in public schools, and Attal has stated that a uniform trial will begin in autumn.
“I am not sure it’s a miracle solution that will solve all school problems. But I think it merits testing,” he added.
A law was introduced that prohibited “the wearing of signs or outfits by which students ostensibly show a religious affiliation” in schools in March 2004.
Large crosses, Jewish kippas, and Islamic headscarves fall under this category.
