PARIS, 17 January 2004 — The French government hit out yesterday at what it said were attempts to stir up radical opposition to a ban on Muslim headscarves in state schools, as supporters of the veil prepared to march through Paris.
Thousands of people are expected to take part in today’s march against a law proposed by President Jacques Chirac that would ban Muslim headscarves, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses from public schools.
“Secularism is an essential element to protect French citizens, whatever gender or belief they hold,” government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope said in a radio interview, defending France’s strict separation of church and state.
“Secularism is the freedom to freely exercise one’s faith, while respecting those of others,” he told Radio Classique.
“As for the demonstration, we see very clearly that some can and are being tempted to radicalize things, to twist reality,” he added.
He gave no details of his concerns and did not say to whom he was referring.
Many French politicians and voters support the planned law as a bulwark against Islamist influence among Muslim immigrants. It has divided opinion among France’s five million Muslims.
Dalil Boubakeur, chairman of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), has described the planned march as a “very dangerous” measure that could frighten voters two months before regional elections are held across France.
Other Muslims feel unfairly targeted by Chirac’s plan. A pro-headscarf march in Paris last month rallied more than 3,000 people, many of them veiled young women.
Chirac’s center-right government wants to rush the anti-headscarf law through Parliament so debate starts before the regional elections and the ban is effective by September.
