There post posted Monday, September 4, back-to-school day, on the social network X (ex-Twitter), has been viewed millions of times and generated tens of thousands of reactions. The photo shows police officers present at the entrance to the Frédéric Mistral school complex in Avignon, while students enter the establishment. It is accompanied by a caption, explaining that the police are present on this back-to-school day to “ensure that abayas are banned”.
The publication provoked numerous reactions of indignation from political figures, while the ban on the wearing of this traditional garment at school, affirmed by the Minister of National Education Gabriel Attal at the end of August, is at the heart of the debates.
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“The presence of the police during the start of the school year is usual and is in no way associated with the control of clothing bans”, communicated the prefecture of Vaucluse which expressed itself in a press release to deny the assertion of the publication on X, faced with the extent of the controversy on social networks.
The prefecture details by communicating that the police were deployed “like every year, on the day of the start of the school year”, and “within each school establishment”.
“Beyond making initial contact with the head of the establishment, the presence of the police makes it possible to secure the establishment and its surroundings on the first day of the new school year, which is notably provided for in the framework of the Vigipirate plan”, continues the prefecture.
A denial that agrees with that of the National Police. Contacted by 20 minutes, the General Directorate of the National Police indicates that “during each new school year, since at least the attacks with Mohammed Merah, the national police set up fixed and mobile security devices, on the greatest possible number of schools. “, adding:” we are in the traditional dimension of securing schools. »
Examination before the Council of State
Of the 298 students who showed up in abaya on Monday for the start of the school year, “67 did not agree to withdraw it”, indicated the Minister of National Education on BFMTV-RMC Monday, September 4. “A very large majority complied with the ban but 67 did not agree to withdraw it and returned home”. For these students, Gabriel Attal also indicated that “in the coming days, they will come back since they must be educated, and then we will see if they have complied with the rule or not”.
The ban on the abaya in schools was also examined on Tuesday, September 5 by the Council of State, following the appeal by the association Action Droits des Musulmans. The association argues that this ban “infringes the rights of the child, because it mainly targets presumed Muslim children, thus creating a risk of ethnic profiling at school”.
The Defender of Rights Claire Hédon was also seized by the association’s lawyers, asking her “to intervene in the procedure” before the Council of State. The decision must be rendered within 48 hours of the instruction.