In the second quarter, there were nearly 150 cases of students violating the law on the wearing of religious symbols at school. The minister of education wants to address the problem at the national level. Another teacher was targeted with several death threats recently after prohibiting a Muslim girl from taking the matriculation exam in a headscarf.

In France the wearing of religious symbols and attires in educational institutions is definitely on the rise, which is cause for concern for 75 per cent of the population, according to a fresh survey by CNews.

The article also indicates that there are big differences in attitudes depending on the age of the respondents. Members of the younger age group are those who are least worried about the wearing of religious clothes, including Muslim headscarves, in schools,. Fifty-eight percent of 18-24-year-olds are not worried about this, compared with respondents over 65. Indeed, the vast majority of this latter age group, 87 per cent, responded that they were concerned about the fact that more and more students are sporting some conspicuous religious symbol or piece of clothing in educational institutions.

There are also significant differences in respondents’ views based on their political affiliation.

100 per cent of those who support the Reconquete (Reconquest) party, founded by right-wing Eric Zemmour, answered yes to the question of whether they are worried that more and more students in schools in France are wearing religious attire. Supporters of other right-wing parties also share this view, with 95 percent of Republicans voters holding the same view as Mr Zemmour’s camp on the issue. A large proportion of Emmanuel Macron’s voters also think the same way, with 84 per cent worried about the phenomenon, but 70 per cent of Socialist supporters also share the same opinion. Voters from the left-wing Jean-Luc Melenchon party, La France Insoumise (France unbowed), are the least concerned about the increasing use of religious clothing by pupils in schools, but still more than half of their camp, 58 per cent, is concerned. .

The article also reveals that this is a growing phenomenon recently, according to records released yesterday by the Central Service of Territorial Surveillance (SCRT).Tthe law on secularism in French schools was violated 144 times in Q2 of 2022. In the first three months of this year, there were 97 such cases, a 48 per cent increase in just a few months. The difference is even more striking when we take into account that in 2018, a total of 150 such incidents were recorded by the authorities in the whole year.

The wearing of religious clothing is therefore on the rise and there is a growing numbef of cases where students violate the 2004 law on wearing religious symbols in state schools. The law clearly states that the wearing of symbols, inscriptions or clothing by students that visibly express their religious affiliation is prohibited in state educational institutions.

CNews also points out that in such a case, disciplinary proceedings could be taken against the student.

They also asked freshly appointed Minister of Education Pap Ndiaye to comment on the phenomenon, who said the presence of religious symbols and clothing in French schools should be investigated at national level.

Controversy on the issue flared up again recently when a teacher at the Charlemagne high school in Paris refused to allow a student to enter the school wearing a Muslim headscarf. The student refused to remove her headscarf, despite being warned several times that the wearing of obvious religious symbols in public schools is prohibited by law, le Figaro reports. The student and the teacher got into an argument, and a friend of the student reported the incident on Twitter. In his post he called the teacher an Islamophobe. The news spread quickly on the internet and the teacher in question

received several death threats.

The teacher filed a complaint and authorities have launched an investigation in the case of death threats, online moral harassment and endangering the life of the teacher, whose name and photo were also published on social media.

The girl’s friend has since deleted his Twitter account containing the post, and the girl also came forward to speak about what happened. She said she was not able to commence her school leaving exam in time despite the fact that she took off her headscarf in response to the teacher’s request. She also reported that the teacher was aggressive with her, shaming her and also shouting at her in public.

[TEMOIGNAGE] Islamophobie. Une élève menacée et humiliée avant une épreuve du bac

Alors qu’elle passait son bac au lycée Charlemagne, une élève voilée a été prise á partie par une CPE. Elle n’a pu passer son épreuve qu’avec du retard, même après avoir retiré son foulard ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/CV4cBWG7qK

— Révolution Permanente (@RevPermanente) June 19, 2022

The Paris school district has also reacted to the incident. It condemned the attacks and threats against the teacher and threw its full support behind the staff members who were harassed. The press has pointed out that the case is eerily similar to that of Samuel Paty, who was murdered in October 2020. As is known, one of Mr Paty’s students complained about him at home after they had a confrontation at school. The student’s father has launched a massive onlinecampaign against the teacher who showed his students the Muhhamad cartoons published by th eCharlie Hebdo magazine at the time. The footage caught the attention of an 18-year-old Chechen radical Islamist terrorist, Abdoullakh Anzorov, who beheaded Mr Paty in broad daylight in the street.

The incident was also noticed by right-wing politician Eric Zemmour, who took to Twitter to anounce that the mortally threatened teacher was in danger. He also asked authorities to place him under police protection.

Une CPE accusée d’islamophobie est en danger. Je demande sa mise sous protection policière. https://t.co/brjIDFw79a

— Eric Zemmour (@ZemmourEric) June 17, 2022