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. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The cross of the war memorial and a menorah for Hanukkah coexist in Oxford. ... Schoolsystem in France The French educational system is highly centralised, organised, and ramified. ... Primary or elementary education is the first years of formal, structured education that occurs during childhood. ... In France, secondary education is in two stages: the collèges (IPA: ) cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15; the lycées (IPA: ) provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between the ages of 15 and 18. ... Motto of the French republic on the tympanum of a church, in Aups (Var département) which was installed after the 1905 law on the Separation of the State and the Church. ...

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 Loi n° 2004-228 du 15 mars 2004 encadrant, en application du principe de laïcité, le port de signes ou de tenues manifestant une appartenance religieuse dans les écoles, collèges et lycées publics. A bill is a proposed new law introduced within a legislature that has not been ratified, adopted, or received assent. ... Jacques René Chirac (born November 29, 1932) has served as the Gaullist President of France since he was first elected in 1995. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (75th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (75th in leap years). ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The law does not mention any particular symbol, though it is considered by many to specifically target the wearing of headscarves (a khimar, considered by some to be required 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. External Hijab is a phrase used to denote garments (typically female) associated with the modest dress of Muslims. ... Illustration of an Islamic headscarf Hijab or ħijāb () is the Arabic term for cover (noun), based on the root حجب meaning to veil, to cover (verb), to screen, to shelter In some Arabic-speaking countries and Western countries, the word hijab primarily refers to womens head and body covering... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ...

The Law as published in the Journal Officiel de la République Française

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (518x686, 68 KB) Ce document est une reproduction dun texte officiel (loi, règlement etc. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (518x686, 68 KB) Ce document est une reproduction dun texte officiel (loi, règlement etc. ... The Journal Officiel de la République Française (JORF or JO) is the official gazette of the French Republic. ...

Background

In order to understand why this law was adopted and what impact its enforcement might have, it is necessary to consider a number of facts about France and its educational system.

French education system

A government-operated high school in central Rennes

Education is compulsory in France up to the age of 16. The French system of primary and secondary education consists of: ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 897 KB) A central lycée in Rennes, France Copyright © 2004 David Monniaux File links The following pages link to this file: Secondary education in France ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 897 KB) A central lycée in Rennes, France Copyright © 2004 David Monniaux File links The following pages link to this file: Secondary education in France ... Some medieval houses, such as these at Champ-Jacquet, can still be found in the center of Rennes. ...

1. government-operated schools (enseignement public);
2. private schools receiving government subsidies (enseignement privé sous contrat), the vast majority of private schools; and
3. 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. 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. Categories: French government | France-related stubs | Education in France ...

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 families, or families from other religions, are put in Catholic schools, 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 euros. According to an official from the General secretariat of French Catholic education, the average costs are €500 a year per student [1]; 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. Agnosticism (from the Greek a, meaning without, and Gnosticism or gnosis, meaning knowledge) means unknowable, and is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims—particularly theological claims regarding metaphysics, afterlife or the existence of God, god(s), or deities—is unknown or, depending on the form of... Catholic schools are education ministries of the Roman Catholic Church. ... “EUR” redirects here. ...

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. The Centre national denseignement à distance or CNED is a French public institution under the oversight of the department of education dedicated to providing distance learning material. ...

History

Since 1905, France has had a law requiring separation of church and state, prohibiting the state from recognising 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),^[1] government-operated French schools have no communal prayers, religious assemblies, or Christian crosses on the walls. The Constitution of France says that France is a laïque (roughly, secular) Republic. The first page of the bill, as brought before the Chambre des Députés in 1905 1905 caricature depicting the separation of the church and state. ... “Atheist” redirects here. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ... School prayer in its most common usage refers to state sanctioned prayer of students in schools. ... The traditional form of the Western Christian cross, known as the Latin cross. ... The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958, and has been amended 17 times, most recently on March 28, 2003. ... Motto of the French republic on the tympanum of a church, in Aups (Var département) which was installed after the 1905 law on the Separation of the State and the Church. ...

A recent poll revealed that only 51% of French citizens declare themselves as Catholic (they were 80% until the beginning of the 1990s and 69% in 2000), and only 10% of them practice regularly.

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 54% 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. The French Wars of Religion were a series of conflicts fought between Catholics and Huguenots (Protestants) from the middle of the sixteenth century to the Edict of Nantes in 1598, including civil infighting as well as military operations. ... The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal which divided France during the 1890s and early 1900s. ...

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. Proselytism is the practice of attempting to convert people to another opinion, usually another religion. ...

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.^[2]

The 1980s and 1990s

Because the law was unclear, the Conseil d'État was called in for legal analyses, then for settling litigation.

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. Download high resolution version (2588x1324, 640 KB)Photo of the Palais Royal (Conseil dEtat) in Paris Copyright (c) 2003 David Monniaux File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (2588x1324, 640 KB)Photo of the Palais Royal (Conseil dEtat) in Paris Copyright (c) 2003 David Monniaux File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A kippah (Hebrew: , plural kippot; Yiddish: , sometimes called a yarmulka or a kepel) is a thin, slightly-rounded skullcap traditionally worn by observant Jewish men. ...

Since the late 1980s, increasing numbers of young Muslim girls have worn headscarves (French: foulards) in schools^{[citation needed]}. Many people find crosses and yarmulkes acceptable, but not these headscarves, for a variety of reasons, most not considering them as religious symbols, but either as symbols of female alienation, dangerous signs of mounting communautarisme (ethnicisation of social relationships, which the French do not view favorably), rising islamist movements, or attacks on the Republic, even sometimes deemed, especially by right-wing or xenophobic groups 'foreign' and 'unfrench'. 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. Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ...

The issue 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, such as biology classes, whose teaching they disagreed with; or they have refused to attend physical education classes, or insisted on attending them in garb which accords with their religious beliefs. The wearing of the headscarf was also criticised as a means to enforce peer pressure on the girls not wearing it. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Physical instruction at the U.S. Naval Training Station, Newport, Rhode Island, 1917 Physical education (PE) is the interdisciplinary study of all areas of science relating to the transmission of physical knowledge and skills to an individual or a group, the application of these skills, and their results. ... Peer pressure comprises a set of group dynamics whereby a group in which one feels comfortable may override personal habits, individual moral inhibitions or idiosyncratic desires to impose a group norm of attitudes and/or behaviors. ...

Because of the uncertainty on the 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 two young girls were expelled from their school in Creil, near Paris, for wearing headscarves. The CREIL (Coherent Raman Effect on Incoherent Light) is a radiation transfer of ordinary incoherent light. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

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,^[3] containing the following opinion: In France, the Conseil dÉtat (English: Council of State and sometimes Counsel of State) is an organ of the French national government. ...

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 expression 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, proselytism or propaganda, 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. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Proselytism is the practice of attempting to convert people to another opinion, usually another religion. ... Propaganda is a type of message aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of people. ... November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... Motto of the French republic on the tympanum of a church, in Aups (Var département) which was installed after the 1905 law on the Separation of the State and the Church. ...

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. For the Lebanese political coalition, see March 14 Alliance. ... Iraqi wearing a keffiyeh. ...

On 10 March 1995, the Conseil upheld the expelling of two students from a highschool, on the basis that the two students gravely perturbed classes, infringing on school rules and the alleged prohibition of proselytism. One factor was the insistence of the students at wearing the scarf during sports classes, which was claimed to be 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. March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (70th in leap years). ...

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 revendicative or ostentatious character, nor did wearing it constitute in any case an act of pressure or proselytism. September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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. Case law (precedential law) is the body of judge-made law and legal decisions that interprets prior case law, statutes and other legal authority -- including doctrinal writings by legal scholars such as the Corpus Juris Secundum, Halsburys Laws of England or the doctinal writings found in the Recueil Dalloz...

The Stasi commission's report

In July 2003, French President Jacques Chirac 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 focal point of the commission was the wearing of religious attire in public schools, the commission noted in its report that the issues went a long way further. The President of France, known officially as the President of the Republic (Président de la République in French), is Frances elected Head of State. ... Jacques René Chirac (born November 29, 1932) has served as the Gaullist President of France since he was first elected in 1995. ... The French commission Stasi is a commission set up to reflect upon the application of the laïcité principle. ... Motto of the French republic on the tympanum of a church, in Aups (Var département) which was installed after the 1905 law on the Separation of the State and the Church. ... Bernard Stasi when ombudsman Bernard Stasi (born July 4, 1930 in Reims) is a French politician. ... An ombudsman (English plural: ombudsmans or ombudsmen) is an official, usually (but not always) appointed by the government or by parliament, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. ...

In the intervening period the terrorist attacks on the USA and the launching of the "war against terror" had led to an increased suspicion of, and sometimes discrimination against, the muslim religion across the Western world.

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, turbans for Sikh boys and large Christian crosses^{[citation needed]}. The Commission recommended allowing the wearing of discreet symbols of faith such as small crosses, Stars of David or Fatima's hands. December 11 is the 345th day (346th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Headscarves are scarves covering most or all of the top of a woman’s hair and her head. ... A kippah (Hebrew: כִּפָּה, also kipah, kipa, kippa, plural kippot; Yiddish: יאַרמלקע, yarmlke, yarmulke, yarmulka, yarmelke, less commonly called kapel; English: skullcap, cap of maintenance) is a thin, usually slightly-rounded cloth cap worn by observant Jews (usually men, but not always; see below). ... A Sikh man wearing a turban The turban (from the Persian , dulband via the Turkish ) is a headdress consisting of a long scarf-like single piece of cloth wound round the head or an inner hat. ... Sikhism (IPA: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ) is a religion that began in sixteenth century Northern India with the teachings of Nanak and nine successive human gurus. ... The Star of David The Star of David in the oldest surviving complete copy of the Masoretic text, the Leningrad Codex, dated 1008. ... Hand of Fatima used as a pendant The symbol or design known in Islamic societies as the Hand of Fatima and in Jewish lore as the Hand of Miriam, or in both as Khamsa, from the Hebrew and Arabic words for five, serves as an ancient talismanic way of averting...

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;^[4] and leaders of human-rights organizations. Ni Putes Ni Soumises (Neither Whores Nor Submissives) is a French feminist movement, founded in 2002, which has already secured the recognition of the French press and parliament. ... SOS Racisme is a French association whose stated objective is to fight racism. ...

Most of the debate about the law centred on the use of the hijab by female Muslim students

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. Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1239 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1239 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Illustration of an Islamic headscarf Hijab or ħijāb () is the Arabic term for cover (noun), based on the root حجب meaning to veil, to cover (verb), to screen, to shelter In some Arabic-speaking countries and Western countries, the word hijab primarily refers to womens head and body covering... Personal development (also known as self-development, self-improvement or personal growth) comprises the development of the self. ... Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

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 headscarfs 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. 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. Illustration of an Islamic headscarf Hijab or ħijāb () is the Arabic term for cover (noun), based on the root حجب meaning to veil, to cover (verb), to screen, to shelter In some Arabic-speaking countries and Western countries, the word hijab primarily refers to womens head and body covering... Headscarves are scarves covering most or all of the top of a woman’s hair and her head. ...

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).

For those not wearing it, the meaning of the Islamic headscarf allegedly stigmatized the young girl or the young woman as responsible for attracting male desire, a vision which fundamentally contradicts the principle of equality between men and women. 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, when compared most countries with enforced laws on hijab have less rate of sexual abuse towards women, submit to Allah, and to achieve respect equally regardless of physical appearance; others, forced to wear it against their wishes, see it as a way to keep women hidden and subservient, and as a way to justify violence towards women who choose not to wear it. Allah is the Arabic language word for God. ...

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 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. The report also recommended enacting a ban on conspicuous symbols of political affiliation. The French National Assembly has not taken up these proposals. Yom Kippur (IPA: ; Hebrew:יוֹם כִּפּוּר, IPA: ) is the Jewish holiday of the Day of Atonement. ... In Muslim communities, Eid (Arabic: عيد ) is the name of two Islamic festivals: Eid ul-Fitr, marking the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan, held on the first day of Shawwal. ... Holidays in France: Note: Only labour day (May 1st) is a public holiday by statute. ... The Palais Bourbon, front The French National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) is one of the two houses of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. ...

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 Chirac 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. The President of France, known officially as the President of the Republic (Président de la République in French), is Frances elected Head of State. ... Jacques René Chirac (born November 29, 1932) has served as the Gaullist President of France since he was first elected in 1995. ...

On February 10, 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. February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Palais Bourbon, front The French National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) is one of the two houses of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. ...

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. // Girls wearing formal attire for dancing, an example of one of the many modern forms of clothing. ...

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. Her participation in school deliberations while entirely covered was highly criticised, but finally tolerated. Illustration of an Islamic headscarf Hijab or ħijāb () is the Arabic term for cover (noun), based on the root حجب meaning to veil, to cover (verb), to screen, to shelter In some Arabic-speaking countries and Western countries, the word hijab primarily refers to womens head and body covering... Woman in an Afghan burqa A burqa (also burkha, burka or burqua) is an all-enveloping outer garment worn by most women in Afghanistan, and many in India and Pakistan. ...

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 David 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 jurisprudence.

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 Star of David The Star of David in the oldest surviving complete copy of the Masoretic text, the Leningrad Codex, dated 1008. ... In France, the Conseil dÉtat (English: Council of State and sometimes Counsel of State) is an organ of the French national government. ... Philosophers of law ask what is law? and what should it be? Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. ... A republican guard giving directions to visitors at the front entrance of the Constitutional Council The Constitutional Council (Conseil Constitutionnel) was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958. ...

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 bandanas (salouva) and light veils (kishall). Categories: Stub ... Veils are articles of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, which cover some part of the head or face. ...

Public reaction

In France

The proposed ban has attracted a significant level of controversy, with both sides of the political spectrum being split on the issue.

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.". February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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.^[5] 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.^[6] AFP logo Paris headquarters of AFP Charles Havas Agence France-Presse (AFP) is the oldest news agency in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. ... Le Parisien (The Parisian) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and suburbs. ...

Complex reasons may influence why an individual either supports or opposes this amendment in favour of laïcité. They range from upholding the principle of laïcité, 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 the rights of individuals of any religion to dress as their religion requires or opposing what may be seen as discrimination against Muslims on 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 French Socialist Party) supported the law. Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National, a party advocating anti-immigration policies, did not support it, while the Trotsykist political party Workers' Struggle did. The Union for a Popular Movement, initially named the Union for a Presidential Majority, and in both cases also known by its French acronym UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire and Union pour la Majorité Présidentielle, respectively) is a French right-wing, conservative political party. ... The Union for French Democracy, also known by its French acronym UDF (Union pour la Démocratie Française), is a French center-right political party. ... The emblem of the French Socialist Party The Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste or PS), founded in 1969, is the main opposition party in France. ... Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean-Marie Le Pen (born June 20, 1928, La Trinité-sur-Mer France) is a French far-right nationalist politician, founder and president of the Front National (National Front) party, and a candidate for the French presidency. ... This article is about the French political party, not the WWII French resistance movement Front national. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Arguments against banning headscarves from schools include:

• if a girl decided to wear one freely, the ban might force her to choose between schooling and her faith
• if parents force a girl to wear a headscarf, they may pull her out of the public schools and, for instance, send them to a Koranic school, which may even reduce the openness of education she receives
• if a girl wears one because of peer pressure and fear of harassment, she will perhaps not feel less pressured or less afraid after the ban

Peer pressure comprises a set of group dynamics whereby a group in which one feels comfortable may override personal habits, individual moral inhibitions or idiosyncratic desires to impose a group norm of attitudes and/or behaviors. ...

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 Turkey; the European Court of Human Rights upheld the laws of Turkey, which are more restrictive than the French law;^[7] it therefore seems highly unlikely it would declare the French law contrary to the Convention. The European Convention on Human Rights (1950) was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe† to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. ...

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^[8] 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 head gear by administrative authorities was contrary to law. First page of the 1804 original edition The Napoleonic Code, or Code Napoléon (originally called the Code civil des Français) was the French civil code, established at the behest of Napoléon I. It was drafted rapidly by a commission of four eminent jurists and entered into force... Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis (April 1, 1746 - August 25, 1807), was a French jurist and politician in time of the French Revolution and the First Empire. ... The current Constitution of France was adopted on October 4, 1958, and has been amended 17 times, most recently on March 28, 2003. ...

International

This article or section deals primarily with the United States and does not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

Some international human rights' organisations criticised the law. Human Rights Watch stated:^[9] Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ... Human Rights Watch Banner Human Rights Watch is a United States-based international non-government organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. ...

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 salaat.

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:^[10] The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a US government agency created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments...

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.

Islamic view

Hijab, or the wearing of modest clothing, is an Islamic duty, and mainstream Muslim scholars agree that it includes covering the hair. 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.^[11] Thousands of Muslim women demonstrated across universities in Egypt against the French decision.

On 30 August 2004, despite demands from armed Islamic militants holding two French hostages (Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot) in Iraq, France upheld its ban on religious symbols and clothing, including that against Muslim headscarves. August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... George Malbrunot is a French journalist working for Le Figaro who, along with Christian Chesnot and Muhammed al-Jundi (their driver), was taken hostage on August 20, 2004, by the Islamic Army in Iraq. ... Christian Chesnot is a French journalist working for Radio France who, along with Georges Malbrunot, was taken hostage on August 20, 2004, by the Islamic Army in Iraq. ...

Enforcement

The law came into effect on September 2, 2004, with the new school year. Despite the controversy when the law was passed, the actual enforcement of the law was rather uneventful. September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

According to statistics from the French government, 240 girls attempted to come to school with a headscarf; 170 later accepted -more or less voluntarily - to take it off, and 70 "conciliation procedures" were started. Two junior highschool female students, Dounia and Khouloudewere, aged 12 and 13 respectively, were the first to be expelled under this law for refusing to take off their headscarves on the 20 October 2004, from a school in Mulhouse, Alsace. At the end of the first semester, according to François Fillon, Minister for Education, 48 students were expelled under the new law, including three Sikh students who went to Catholic schools. October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 72 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mulhouse (French: Mulhouse, pronounced ; Alsatian: Milhüsa; German: Mülhausen) is a town and commune in eastern France close to Swiss and German border. ... (New région flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Strasbourg Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) Departments Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Statistics Land area1 8,280 km² Population (Ranked 14th)  - January 1, 2006 est. ... François Fillon, 2003 François Fillon (born March 4, 1954 in Le Mans, Sarthe) is a French politician. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

On October 6, 2004, the Conseil d'État rejected a recourse from the family of a student (born in Syria and on the way to leaving for the United Arab Emirates) who was asked to leave a highschool for insisting on wearing a bandana, which they claim is for aesthetic and not religious reasons. The court ruled that the school's administration had applied diligence in maintaining contacts with the child's family and offering pedagogical tutoring. October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Categories: Stub ...

On October 8, 2004, the Conseil d'État rejected a recourse against a circulaire by the Minister of Education giving precisions the executive's view of the law, judging that it did not violate constitutional rights nor the European Convention of Human Rights. October 8 is the 281st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (282nd in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The European Convention on Human Rights (1950) was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe† to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. ...

On July 19, 2005, the Paris administrative court of appeals rejected the respective requests from the parents of two students who were expelled from a highschool in Bobigny on November 5 2004 for wearing turbans (keshkis), albeit small ones, demonstrating their belonging to the Sikh religion. July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bobigny is a town and commune of France, in the suburbs is of Paris, chief town of the arrondissement of the Seine-Saint-Denis. ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... A Sikh man wearing a turban The turban (from the Persian , dulband via the Turkish ) is a headdress consisting of a long scarf-like single piece of cloth wound round the head or an inner hat. ... Kanga, Kara and Kirpan - three of the five articles of faith endowed to the Sikhs by Guru Gobind Singh The Five Ks, or panj kakaar/kakke, are five items of faith that baptised Khalsa Sikhs wear at all times at the command of the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

In September 2005, the Ministry of Education reported^[12] 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.^[13] The Centre national denseignement à distance or CNED is a French public institution under the oversight of the department of education dedicated to providing distance learning material. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Education in France: Secondary education in France (lycées) Baccalauréat Grandes Écoles List of universities in France See also Minister of National Education (France) Agence pour lEnseignement Français à lEtranger Categories: Education in France | Education by country | France-related stubs ... Créteil is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. ... A Sikh man wearing a turban The turban (from the Persian , dulband via the Turkish ) is a headdress consisting of a long scarf-like single piece of cloth wound round the head or an inner hat. ...

According to a report by Hanifa Chérifi, inspector-general at the Ministry of Education, the law was largely considered "liberation" by many young women and parents. Opponents of the law in the group Une école pour tous ("One school for all") dispute those claims, and give their own estimates, based on extrapolations, that between 200 to 800 simply declined to show up in school rather than to remove their religious garb or join a private school.

While the text of the law called for an evaluation by Parliament after one year, as of September 2005, no such evaluation has taken place yet.

Extensions

This section does not cite its references or sources. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. (help, get involved!) Any unsourced material may be removed at any time. This article has been tagged since May 2007. Image File history File links Information_icon. ...

There have been a number of cases where school or public authorities have attempted to go beyond the law. 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. It has almost always been impossible to get a written refusal from the headmaster and therefore challenge the ban in court. In Montreuil a mobilisation of parents compelled a headmistress to accept the participation of a headscarf wearing mother at the school fête.

Occasionally, mayors have refused to allow headscarf wearing women 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 universities seem to believe that the students, being adults, are free to show their religious beliefs as they wish.

Notes

In France, the Conseil dÉtat (English: Council of State and sometimes Counsel of State) is an organ of the French national government. ... A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilaafah), is the Islamic form of government representing the political unity and leadership of the Muslim world. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Nicolas Sarkozy   (born Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa on 28 January 1955 in Paris, France) is the President-Elect of France after defeating Socialist Party leader Ségolène Royal during the 2007 election. ... The entrance to the Ministry in Place Beauvau is guarded by one gendarme (to the left) and one policewoman (to the right). ... Conseil Français du Culte Musulman (French: French Council of the Muslim Faith), usually abbreviated to CFCM, a group that is made up of 25 CRCMs (Conseil Regional du Culte Musulman or Regional Councils of the Muslim Faith). ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• 1905 French law on the separation of Church and State
• Islam in France
• Islamic dress controversy in Europe
• Ni Putes Ni Soumises
• Civil religion
• Education in France
• School uniform
• Shabina Begum case - a similar controversy in England
• Religious Pluralism
• Clash of Civilizations

The first page of the bill, as brought before the Chambre des Députés in 1905 1905 caricature depicting the separation of the church and state. ... Estimates of the number of Muslims in France vary widely. ... The right-wing British tabloid Daily Express campaigned for a ban on veils in 2006. ... Ni Putes Ni Soumises (Neither Whores Nor Submissives) is a French feminist movement, founded in 2002, which has already secured the recognition of the French press and parliament. ... The intended meaning of the term civil religion often varies according to whether one is a sociologist of religion or a professional political commentator. ... Schoolsystem in France The French educational system is highly centralised, organised, and ramified. ... Students in Bangkok Over one thousand students in uniform during an assembly at a secondary school in Singapore. ... Shabina Begum was a pupil at Denbigh High School, in Luton, England, who claimed she had a right to wear a jilbab (a long gown) to school (which she believed was required by her Muslim faith), in contravention of the school uniform policy. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Cover of The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order The Clash of Civilizations is a controversial theory that peoples cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. ...

References

• References in English
  • Analysis by the Brookings Institution

• References in 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 Senate, Legislative file on the law
    • French National Assembly, Legislative file on the law
  • Litigation
    • Conseil d'État, November 2 1992, [2]
    • Conseil d'État, March 14 1994, [3]
    • Conseil d'État, March 10 1995, [4]
    • Conseil d'État, November 27 1996: [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10]
    • Conseil d'État, October 6 2004: [11],
    • Conseil d'État, October 8 2004: [12]
    • Cour administrative d'appel de Paris, July 19 2005 [13]

• • 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 française, ISBN 2-11-005595-2 (online version, PDF, summary)
    • Conseil d'État, general assembly, section of the Interior, advice #346.893 - November 27, 1989

Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... The Senate amphitheater in the Luxembourg Palace The Senate (in French :le Sénat) is the upper house of the Parliament of France. ... The Palais Bourbon, front The French National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) is one of the two houses of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. ... In France, the Conseil dÉtat (English: Council of State and sometimes Counsel of State) is an organ of the French national government. ... November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... For the Lebanese political coalition, see March 14 Alliance. ... March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (70th in leap years). ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years). ... October 8 is the 281st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (282nd in leap years). ... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... In France, the Conseil dÉtat (English: Council of State and sometimes Counsel of State) is an organ of the French national government. ... The Documentation française is a French public administration charged with publishing general documentation on major newsworthy problems for French administrations and the French public. ...

External links

• Links in English
  • France: Religious Freedom in the Land of Voltaire
  • Interview with Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin (English translation) (January 25 2004)
  • President Jacques Chirac's statement (English translation) (January 28 2004)
  • Islamophobia divides the Left in France
  • The war of the headscarves (The Economist, February 7th, 2004)
  • French MPs back headscarf ban (BBC, February 10 2004)
  • Eight different viewpoints on the headscarf from around Europe (BBC, February 10 2004)
  • Religious dress legal news and resources, JURIST

• Links in French
  • A comparative study of legislation in other EU countries
  • Overview from Le Nouvel Observateur — collection of links to various internet sites, about headscarf in France, Laïcité principle, opinions of various political groups or people as well as associations, Stasi Commission
  • About the bill from the Assemblée nationale
  • Réseau Voltaire on the Islamic veil
  • Petition against the veil by notable French women
  • a Left wing view of the question in Number 9 of the Quarterly Socialisme International
  • Overview of Islam in France in the conservative magazine Le Point

January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Economist is a weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London, UK. It has been in continuous publication since September 1843. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... A jurist is a professional who studies, develops, applies or otherwise deals with the law. ...