French Education Minister Gabriel Atal announced on Sunday that he would "ban the wearing of the abaya in schools" on the pretext that this dress violates strict secular laws in the field of education in the country, stressing his endeavor to set "clear rules at the national level" for school principals.

When the minister was asked about the issue that has been controversial for months due to incidents related to wearing this dress, Atal said in a statement to TF1, "It is no longer possible to wear the abaya in schools," revealing that he is seeking "as of next week" to meeting with officials of these educational institutions to help them implement the new ban.

The minister stressed that "secularism is the freedom to liberate oneself through school."

The right and the extreme right had pushed for the adoption of this ban, while the left, for its part, considered it an attack on civil liberties.
There are reports that abayas are increasingly being worn in schools, and that there are tensions within schools over the issue, between teachers and parents.

Since he assumed the portfolio of national education and youth at the end of July, Attal considers going to school in the abaya "a religious manifestation that aims to test the extent of the republic's resistance in terms of what the school should constitute as a secular edifice." "When you enter a classroom, you should not be able to tell the students' religion just by looking at them," he added in his statement to TF1 on Sunday.

The issue of wearing the abaya, which the French Council of the Islamic Religion does not consider a religious appearance, was previously included in a circular of the Ministry of National Education last November.

The circular stated that abayas, like veils for hair and long skirts, are considered garments that may be banned if they are worn "in a manner that publicly demonstrates religious affiliation." But school principals were waiting for clearer rules in this regard as accidents increased.

According to a memo by state agencies, a copy of which was seen by Agence France-Presse, violations of secularism have been increasing dramatically since the murder of teacher Samuel Paty in 2020 near his school, and it has increased by 120 percent between the academic years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

In addition, religious appearances and clothing, which constitute the majority of violations of secularism, increased by more than 150 percent in the past academic year.

Since the law was promulgated on March 15, 2004, “religious appearances and clothing through which pupils openly display their religious affiliation are prohibited in public schools, colleges, schools, and high schools.” These include large crosses, the Jewish skullcap, and the Islamic headscarf.

On Sunday, the minister praised school principals, considering that they are "in the first front line regarding these issues of secularism," promising to meet them "next week (...) to give them all the rules so that they can impose this" new rule.

The decision was welcomed by the right-wing camp, as the head of the Republican Party, Eric Ciotti, said on the “X” website (formerly Twitter), “We have repeatedly called for banning abayas in our schools,” adding, “I welcome the decision of the Minister of National Education, which proves that we are right.”

On the left, Clementine Otan of the "France Proud" party expressed her indignation at the decision, considering Attal's declaration "unconstitutional" and "contrary to the founding principles of secularism" and that it is symptomatic of the government's "obsessive rejection of Muslims."

The ban on wearing abayas represents the first major step announced by Atal, 34, since his promotion this summer to take over the highly controversial education portfolio. Along with Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin (40 years old), Attal is seen as a rising star who could play an important role after Macron steps down in 2027.
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