Divisions. After the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, who calls for a ban on the use of headscarves for those accompanying school outings and the distancing of the government spokesperson in this regard, it is Catherine Vautrin’s turn to give her opinion.
Mothers who accompany classes on outings “can carry scarves. They have less ostentatious signs than others”, judges this Friday the Minister of Health, Solidarity and Families in Europe 1-Cnews, before mentioning more precisely the “small scarves” .
Wearing the veil is possible according to the Council of State
“It’s about nuances. In this sense, the fewer provocative attitudes we have, the better off we will be. This is what our fellow citizens expect,” continues the former LR elected.
Last Tuesday, the tenant of Place Beauvau defended on RTL his desire to ban wearing the veil for school companions. “I believe that school counselors are the extramural school,” Bruno Retailleau further defended.
Under current law, parents of students who accompany classes outside a school facility may display religious signs and clothing that ostensibly demonstrate their religious affiliation. It was the Council of State that decided the issue in a 2013 ruling.
“A balance”
According to the highest administrative court, these parents are simple “users” of the public service that the school represents. They are not “agents” or “collaborators” of the public service, the only ones affected by “the demands of religious neutrality.” Therefore, mothers who wear headscarves are not legally bound by it.
As a reminder, in the case of schools, no teachers or teaching staff in the broad sense, such as supervisors or cafeteria staff, may display visible religious symbols in public educational establishments.
“I think it is absolutely necessary to find a balance between respect for the convictions of some and respect for the values of the Republic of others,” analyzes Catherine Vautrin, a member of the government during the vote on the law on the prohibition of ostentatious religious symbols in schools in 2004.
“The personal position” by Bruno Retailleau
In the current state of the political landscape and in a very divided National Assembly, any progress on this issue seems impossible. Sophie Primas, spokesperson for the Government, who was for a long time in the Senate with Bruno Retailleau, already explained at the end of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday that the Government of François Bayrou will not accept this proposal.
The Minister of the Interior himself admitted that it was “his personal position” and that “this issue, as it probably did not have a majority in Parliament, was not an issue that was going to be discussed” in the National Assembly.
Source: BFM TV
