France: Top Court Upholds Abaya Ban in State Schools

Facts

• On Thursday, France's highest court upheld the government's decision to ban abayas [robe-like outer garments that some women in the Muslim faith wear] in state-run schools.¹
• Action for the Rights of Muslims — a Muslim rights organization — had filed the motion with the State Council seeking an injunction against the Aug. 31 ban, alleging it was discriminatory and could incite hatred against the minority.²
• However, the court ruled that abaya prohibition didn't cause "serious or obviously illegal harm to the respect for personal lives, freedom of religion, the right to education, the well-being of children or the principle of non-discrimination."³
• Last month, defending his decision to ban the abaya, the country's education minister, Gabriel Attal, stated, "When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn't be able to identify the pupils' religion just by looking at them."⁴
• Attal claimed that the dress violated France's secular laws, saying, "abaya is a religious gesture" that tests the country's resistance toward "the secular sanctuary that school must constitute."⁵
• A 2004 law bans wearing "signs or outfits by which students ostensibly show a religious affiliation" in educational institutes — including large crosses, Jewish kippahs, and Islamic headscarves.⁶

Sources: ¹CNN, ²Al Jazeera, ³Le Monde.fr, ⁴Reuters, ⁵The Week, and ⁶France 24.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by CNN. The abaya ban in French schools violates fundamental rights and religious freedom of expression. It also stigmatizes and marginalizes young girls who practice the Islamic faith. Additionally, the ban is unconstitutional as French law bans "attire displaying religious worship" in state-run schools, but the floor-length dress isn't classified as religious clothing.
• Right narrative, as provided by The Times of Israel. The move comes after months of debate over abayas in France's state-run schools, where not just Muslim religious symbols but Christian and Jewish signs are also banned. Islamic attire is undoubtedly being used politically to circumvent France's strict laws and damage the country's secular fabric. The reality is that secular policies are implemented across all religions fairly.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Le Monde. President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance Party is attempting to compete with Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally by targeting Muslims and their civil liberties. Attal's attempt to pander to far-right voters has broader implications for civil liberties in French society.

Predictions