Abstract
On 15 March 2004, the French Parliament passed a law banning the wearing of ostentatious religious symbols in all public primary and secondary schools. Prime Minister Raffarin introduced this law to the National Assembly under the conservative presidency of Jacques Chirac. It was the culmination of a long and extenuating public debate in France, which started in 1989 with the affaires des foulards and led to the legislative enactment of a ban that remains unique in Europe. No other European country has prohibited by law the wearing of ostentatious religious symbols by students in primary and secondary schools.
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© 2016 Paola Mattei and Andrew S. Aguilar
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Mattei, P., Aguilar, A.S. (2016). Policies towards Religion in French Public Schools, 1989–2004. In: Secular Institutions, Islam and Education Policy. St Antony’s Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137316080_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137316080_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-230-28420-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-31608-0
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