French left divided over abaya ban in schools

The ban on the abaya in schools, announced by French Education Minister Gabriel Attal, has highlighted the left’s divisions over secularism and its implementation, while the radical left has vowed to take the decision to court.

President Macron’s Renaissance party, the right and the far right all welcomed the ban on wearing the abaya and kameez, loose-fitting full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in French schools. The ban was announced by Attal on French broadcaster TF1 on Sunday evening (27 August).

On Tuesday morning, the coordinator of the leftist party La France Insoumise (LFI) Manuel Bompard strongly criticised the government’s decision on TV channel France 2, announcing that his parliamentary group would challenge it before the Council of State, the highest French administrative court.

For Bompard, who succeeded Jean-Luc Mélenchon at the head of the radical left-wing movement, “this regulation [is] contrary to the Constitution, it is dangerous, it is cruel”. Banning the abaya “will result in discrimination against young women, particularly young women of the Muslim faith”, he added.

“The religious authorities of the Muslim faith say that the abaya is not a religious garment,” said Bompard, who added that “secularism must be a factor of peace and unity” but would be now “used to stigmatise a particular religion”. Mélenchon himself described the ban as “a new, absurd and entirely artificial war of religion”.

Bompard also warned of the difficulty of distinguishing between “religious dress and fashion”.

Members of the Europe Ecologie – Les Verts (EELV) party, MPs Sandrine Rousseau and Sandra Regol, criticised the ban as controlling women’s bodies.

Religious or cultural dress?

Secularism in France stems from Article 1 of the country’s constitution, which states that the French Republic is “indivisible, secular, democratic and social”, with the principle’s founding text considered to be the 1905 law separating church and state.

This law established the neutrality of the French state with regard to all religions, which extends to certain public places, including schools. In 2004, a law prohibited conspicuous religious symbols in schools.

The interpretation of whether or not the abaya is a religious garment is at the heart of the controversy, as is the interpretation of the principle of secularism by the French left.

The discourse of LFI and EELV contrasts with that of their allies in the Socialist Party (PS) and the French Communist Party (PCF), who welcomed the education minister’s decision.

The mayor of Montpellier, socialist Michaël Delafosse, welcomed the step as “a very important signal that must be accepted by everyone”, as all religious symbols are banned in schools and “there is no place for religious proselytism”. Communist leader Fabien Roussel also welcomed the establishment of a clear rule.

While Socialist Party First Secretary Olivier Faure has kept a low profile on the issue, Emma Rafowicz, President of the Young Socialists and elected representative in Paris – who like Faure supports an alliance with LFI – believes that “the republican and secular school is a sanctuary and must remain a place of emancipation”, and opposes the wearing of religious clothing in schools.

Socialist MP Jérôme Guedj followed suit, but questioned the government’s political priorities, calling on the Education Minister to “put the same energy into ensuring the essential thing: guaranteeing a teacher in every classroom”.

Sophie Binet, general secretary of the CGT, France’s second-largest workers’ union, also deplored the government’s communication on radio France Inter on Tuesday morning, but said she was in favour of banning the clothing. However, in her opinion, the minister was “using the subject to evacuate the central issues”, namely the teacher shortage.

“The more we talk about it, the more we increase the phenomenon […] it only encourages the accessory to be worn more,” she warned.

Public opinion polls have shown a large majority are against permitting students to wear the abaya, kameez and djellaba, with 77% of French people against it, according to an IFOP poll published in June. This proportion rises to 80% when only teachers are asked, a study published in November showed.

More than two out of three teachers (68%) consider that the abaya or kameez have a religious rather than simply cultural character.

A majority of left-wing supporters are also against these traditional garments in schools, with 60% for the radical left (LFI) and the Greens, and 75% for the Socialists.

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[Edited by Benjamin Fox/Nathalie Weatherald]