This is apparently one of the government’s priorities for the start of the school year. Gabriel Attal announced Sunday evening, then formalized Monday wanting to “block” on secularism. To do this, the new Minister of National Education wants to ban in schools the wearing of the abaya, a long traditional dress worn by certain Muslim students.
“The abaya has no place in our schools,” added the minister. A statement which acts as a response to a note produced by the State services on attacks on secularism in schools, to which the Figaro had access. Is the abaya really a religious habit? How does it undermine secularism at school? Is wearing the abaya a worrying phenomenon? How to actually ban it?
Is an abaya a religious sign?
For government spokesman Olivier Véran, this outfit is a “political attack” on secular schools. However, it is not a religious garment strictly speaking because there is no religious habit as such in Islam, so it is not an Islamic habit. This is explained in particular by the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) in a press release dating from last June. According to the organization, this long traditional dress covering the body “is not” a Muslim religious sign because “in the Muslim tradition, which we defend, a garment of any kind is not a religious sign in itself” .
However, like the veil, the abaya can be considered as a sign of belonging to a religion if “it cannot be worn commonly by all students”, nuance to 20 minutes Nicolas Cadène, co-founder of Vigilance of secularism and former General Rapporteur of the Observatory of Secularism to the Prime Minister. Indeed, according to a circular from the Ministry of National Education specifying the law of March 15, 2004, the latter “does not prohibit accessories and outfits that are commonly worn by students without any religious significance. On the other hand, the law prohibits a student from taking advantage of the religious character that he would attach to it, for example, to refuse to comply with the rules applicable to the behavior of students in the establishment. »
If a student systematically wears this long dress, every day, and refuses to change her outfit, for example for sport, “this proves that she wants to show a sense of belonging”, adds Nicolas Cadène. The student’s behavior in general will thus come into play. In a circular of November 9, 2022, the Ministry of Education underlines that the Council of State distinguishes signs or outfits which manifest “by their very nature, a religious affiliation”, and those who “may become so” because of “the student’s behaviour”.
How to actually ban it?
After the words, the gestures. Gabriel Attal’s announcements on the ban on the abaya at school must still be followed by a circular to “give elements of appreciation on day-to-day management”, explains Nicolas Cadène. To comply with the law, this circular will have to recall the systematic nature of the wearing of this outfit for it to be considered a religious sign. If, otherwise, it is not precise enough and targets long dresses in general, it risks being subject to an appeal and being challenged in court.
The teaching body will then remain vigilant with regard to this circular. If Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of the secondary education union (SNES-FSU), welcomes a “strong word [du ministre de l’Education nationale] which reaffirms the principle of secularism”, it insists on respect for “dialogue”. “There is a risk of turning students on and pushing them to leave public education for private denominational education, and that would be a failure of public school,” she warns. In addition, Sophie Vénétitay warns against “reductive visions of secularism”. “If we come to measure the length of dresses, it may be complicated,” she illustrates. The measure could indeed be counterproductive and risks reinforcing provocations against the principle of secularism.
Generally speaking, the repressive solution is not the most effective in combating what the government calls “communitarianism”. According to Vigie de la laïcité, creating socio-cultural diversity at school is the most useful way to avoid cultural and religious withdrawal. “In each establishment where it has been reinforced, attacks on secularism have dropped drastically, supports the independent and citizen organization in a press release. This announcement by the Minister of National Education should therefore not be a way of neglecting this basic action. »
How widespread is the wearing of the abaya in schools in France?
According to the note from the State services on attacks on secularism, “the 2022-2023 school year was marked by a sharp increase in the number of reports of attacks on secularism and the category of wearing signs and wearing uniforms. not respecting the law of March 15, 2004”. Regarding more specifically the abayas, “the number of young girls wearing such outfits within the same establishment is sometimes relatively large, more than 30 per day”, assures a field actor quoted by Le Figaro.
The phenomenon can become worrying in certain establishments locally. But “this is not the main problem of the start of the new school year”, nuance Sophie Vénétitay who regrets that “this marginal question eclipses the rest of the problems such as the lack of teachers or the question of the number of pupils per class”.