PARIS, 18 December 2003 — French President Jacques Chirac said yesterday he would ask Parliament to pass a law banning Islamic headscarves and other religious insignia in public schools, a dramatic and potentially explosive move aimed at shoring up the nation’s secular tradition.
“Secularism is one of the great successes of the Republic,” Chirac said in an address to the nation. “It is a crucial element of social peace and national cohesion. We cannot let it weaken.”
Chirac said he would push for a law to be enacted in time for the school year that begins next autumn. Islamic headscarves, Jewish skullcaps and large crucifixes would fall under the ban.
“They don’t have a place in our public schools,” Chirac said.
However, Chirac said the wearing of discreet items like a small pendant with the Star of David “remains possible.”
Chirac’s proposal also covers the workplace. His labor minister may, if necessary, submit measures to Parliament to allow business leaders “to regulate the wearing of religious signs,” Chirac said.
Companies should be free to ban the wearing of headscarves and other religious signs for reasons of safety or customer relations, Chirac said.
Chirac said France has been enriched by its diversity but that “fanaticism is gaining ground.”
For the public sector, Chirac said a law was needed to stop patients from being able to refuse treatment in public hospitals because of the gender of the treating physician or medical personnel. “We must reaffirm with force the neutrality and secularism in the public service.”
The French Council of the Muslim Faith has expressed deep reservations about banning headscarves, saying it would be viewed as a discriminatory move against France’s Muslim population, at 5 million strong the largest in Western Europe.
However, adoption of a law was nearly certain, as lawmakers from both sides of the political spectrum have voiced support for a law on secularism, insisting France must retain its separation of religion and state.
As expected, Chirac rejected a commission recommendation to establish the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur and the Muslim Eid Al-Adha as school holidays.
Headscarves are already forbidden for people working in the public sector.
