France’s education minister bans long robes in classrooms worn mainly by Muslims

By ELAINE GANLEY
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — France’s education minister has announced a ban on long robes in classrooms starting with the new school year, saying the garments worn mainly by Muslims are testing secularism in the nation’s schools. Critics say that abayas, worn by women, and khamis, the male garb, are no more than a fashion statement — not an ostentatious sign of religion banned from classrooms by a 2004 law. For education chief Gabriel Attal, the garments are “an infringement on secularism,” a foundational principle for France, and, in some cases, a bid to destabilize schools.