French Assembly OKs Ban on Head Scarves in Schools

French legislators voted Tuesday to ban Islamic head scarves, Jewish yarmulkes, large Christian crosses and other religious symbols in public schools, all but ensuring passage of a proposed law intended to reaffirm the country’s secular tradition.

In a display of unity across ideological lines, 494 deputies in the National Assembly voted for the measure and 36 voted against it. The legislation now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to pass next month. The ban would go into effect in September and prohibit “conspicuous” religious apparel and symbols while permitting smaller items.

French leaders called the vote a victory for the religious neutrality of the state and the rights of women and, in the words of Education Minister Luc Ferry on Tuesday, against “a spectacular rise in racism and anti-Semitism in the last three years” that troubles schools in ethnically mixed neighborhoods.

“Such unanimity in the heart of the National Assembly is a very strong moment in the political life of the republic because this is about stopping a drift and clearly defining things vis-a-vis fundamentalism,” said Bernard Accoyer, a parliamentary leader of the center-right ruling coalition of President Jacques Chirac.

The measure has been of particular concern in France’s Islamic community, the largest in Western Europe with about 5 million people. However, the response Tuesday among Muslims was mixed and generally muted. Attempts at nationwide protests appeared to fizzle.

Sounding cautiously optimistic, a prominent Muslim leader praised an amendment that would require that the effect of the ban be evaluated a year after its enactment. The amendment was added after negotiations with the Socialist legislative opposition and mainstream Muslim groups.

French Muslims “were right to be prudent” during the recent political debate because of “the national determination to move toward this law,” said Dalil Boubakeur, president of the French Council of the Muslim Creed. He praised the Islamic community “for not permitting itself to fall into the emotional and the irrational.”

Nonetheless, the decision provoked criticism here, in the Arab world and in a few Western countries. Critics fear the measure would stifle religious freedom and stigmatize Muslim communities that are already angry and alienated.

“This is a dark day for the republic,” said Fouad Alaoui, secretary-general of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France. “The will to exclude has been made concrete by a vote on which the right and left agreed. It’s hard to talk about an open and tolerant republic with this law.”

The head scarf debate is seen as a gambit by Chirac to appeal to conservative voters. The far-right National Front, which blames immigrants and Islam for France’s socioeconomic problems, remains a potent force in regional elections set for next month.

But the president has cultivated popularity among French Muslims and in the Arab world, especially after his dogged opposition to the war in Iraq. He proposed the measure at the recommendation of a commission of distinguished experts who said a rise in aggressive Islamic extremism is affecting public institutions such as schools and hospitals.

The measure would address behavior identified by the commission’s report, such as Muslim students refusing to take sex education and gym classes that they consider “immodest” and disrupting classes about the Holocaust with anti-Semitic diatribes.

Enforcing the law would be trickier than getting it passed. At the demand of the Socialist opposition, the government has agreed to engage in consultations before imposing punishment of those who violate the ban.

Despite meager turnout at protest marches last weekend, backlash on France’s “Arab street” is still a possibility as well. French leaders are especially concerned about the potential reaction among young Muslims, whether hard-core religious extremists or youths of Islamic descent who see their cultural identity under attack.