A group gathered in front of the French Embassy protests against the ban on abaya (long dress) in schools in France in Vienna, Austria on September 16, 2023

French policies banning Hijabs and Abayas draw outrage at home and abroad

France’s Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera announced on 3rd September 2023  on France 3 that athletes representing France will be barred from wearing hijabs or other religious symbols while competing at the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.1  The minister stated that the ban upholds France’s principle of “strict secularism” or  “la laïcité,” in sports and…

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French Supreme Court Upholds Hijab Ban in Football Games: Another Affront to Religious Freedom

On Thursday, 29th June 2023, the Council of State (Conseil d’Etat) the highest administrative court in France, upheld a ban on Muslim women football players wearing hijab during all matches organized by the  French Football Federation (FFF).[fn]https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/top-french-court-upholds-ban-wearing-hijab-during-soccer-games-2023-06-29/[/fn]   The case was brought before the Council of State on 26th June 2023. [fn]https://www.marianne.net/societe/laicite-et-religions/port-du-hijab-dans-le-foot-le-conseil-detat-denonce-des-attaques-contre-lindependance-de-la-justice [/fn]  after the…

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French Republican Values “Threatened by the Burkini”: Is The June 21 Ruling A Turning Point?

France’s Council of State, the country’s top administrative court, ruled on June 21 against allowing swimmers to wear “burkini” swimwear – a swimsuit used by some Muslim women to cover their bodies and hair – in Grenoble’s public swimming pools. The top court argued that allowing the burkini would violate France’s principle of neutrality on…

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French presidential candidate compares Holocaust to anti-Muslim bias

French Jews accused a left-wing presidential candidate of encouraging Holocaust denial following his comparison of the Nazi persecution of Jews to the situation of French Muslims today. Vincent Peillon, who is running in the Socialist Party primaries ahead of the elections this year, made the analogy Tuesday during an interview aired by the France 2…

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Baby Loup: The Court of Appeals Confirms the Dismissal of the Veiled Employee

June 25, 2014 Fatima Afif, the Muslim employee who wore a headscarf to the Baby Loup crèche in Chanteloup-les-Vignes, has lost her fight in the French courts. On Wednesday, June 25 the court delivered an official and final ruling on the case, which has been an ongoing legal battle for four years. According to Le…

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