The French Council of State approved the ban on the wearing of the abaya in public educational institutions, and on Friday the father of a high school girl who threatened the principal of his daughter's school with death because he did not allow a student wearing a Muslim robe to enter the institution was already detained.

The association called Action droits des musulmans (Action for the Rights of Muslims - ADM) requested the suspension of the measure prohibiting the wearing of the abaya and, in the case of men, the kameez in public educational institutions, from the highest public administrative institution.

In the decision of the Council of State, the request was rejected on the grounds that the ban on wearing the aforementioned items of clothing does not seriously and obviously violate any fundamental right to freedom.

According to the plaintiffs, the ban on the wearing of long traditional clothing at school, announced by French Education Minister Gabriel Attal on August 27, violates the rights of children, as it primarily targets students who are presumed to be of the Islamic faith, thus allowing the risk of ethnic profiling at school. .

The head of the ministry welcomed "the important decision for republican education", which "must receive all students with the same rights and the same obligations, without discrimination or stigmatization".

ADM lawyer Vincent Brengarth, however, deplored the decision because of its "poor reasoning", saying the judge had completely ignored the testimony when he "denied the traditional nature of the abaya".

The debate of the Council of State on Tuesday was dominated by the question of whether or not the abaya is a religious garment. The plaintiffs interpreted it as a traditional piece of clothing, and in some cases as a "fashion phenomenon", while according to the Ministry of Education, "based on the piece of clothing, the wearer can be immediately identified as belonging to the Islamic religion".

The Council of State agreed with the latter argument and found that "wearing the abaya and kameez in schools fits into the logic of religious affiliation, as evidenced by their comments during conversations with students."

As a result of all this, the ban "does not represent a serious and obviously illegal violation of the right to respect for private life, freedom of religion, the right to education, respect for the best interests of the child, or the principle of non-discrimination," reads the board's decision.

The Council of State also reminded that the law prohibits students in public education institutions from wearing signs or clothing that in a striking and distinctive way, either by themselves or based on the student's behavior, show belonging to a religion.

In France, out of 12 million students, 298 showed up at school wearing abayas on the first day of school, and 67 refused to take them off.

The father of a high school student in Clermont-Ferrand, central France, was detained on Friday for threatening to kill the principal of his daughter's school.

The student was not allowed to enter the institution on Monday because he was wearing an abaya and refused to take it off even when asked by the principal. The director received the girl's father and explained to him the meaning of the measure.

However, the girl came to school wearing an abaya again on Thursday, while her father threatened the director of the high school with death on the phone, police sources told France Info news radio. After the school filed a complaint against the father, he was produced on Friday.

These are extremely shocking threats, said Minister Gabriel Attal during his visit to Lyon. "I spoke with the school director on the phone yesterday, I assured him of the support of the government, the state and myself, and in a broader sense, I think, of the support of our compatriots in the face of threats that are unacceptable and unclassifiable," said the head of the ministry, recalling that the State Council issued the final decision on his abaya and "this is the law".

MTI