According to a survey by the CSA Institute for CNEWS, published this Wednesday, June 15, three quarters of French people say they are concerned about the increase in religious or “traditional” outfits at school.
The phenomenon alarmed the French. Three-quarters of them (75%) say they are concerned about the increase in religious dress (like the Islamic veil) or so-called “traditional” dress in school, according to a CSA poll released for CNEWS on Wednesday, April 15. June.
In detail, 43% of the respondents state that they are “completely concerned” and 32% “rather concerned”. Conversely, 13% “rather not” and 12% “not at all”.
It should be noted that there are large differences in the assessment depending on the age of the respondents. In fact, the youngest say they are far less concerned about the issue than the oldest. The 18 to 24-year-olds are the only ones who are predominantly “not worried” (at 58%). In contrast, the proportion of those concerned continues to rise across the age groups and reaches 87% among those over 65 years of age.
100% of Reconquest supporters are concerned
Regarding the results of the survey regarding the political affinity of the respondents, each political “family” says that they are mainly concerned about the phenomenon. However, with large gaps between left and right followers.
53% of the Insoumis are concerned, compared to 70% for the Socialists, 84% for the Macronists, 95% for the Republicans and even 100% for the Reconquest sympathizers. It should be noted that people who feel close to the National Rally are less concerned than the rest of the right, with 90% of people still being concerned.
As a reminder, this poll comes at a time when a confidential memo from the Central Territorial Intelligence Service (SCRT), unveiled this week, indicated that 144 violations of the Secularism Act related to the ban on carrying religious signs or clothing in schools, colleges and high schools were registered in the second quarter of 2022, compared to 97 in the first. A 48% increase in just a few months, while these numbers have been increasing for several years (150 identified incidents throughout 2018).
The phenomenon thus clashes with the law, and in particular the 2004 law on religious symbols in public schools. This law thus states that “in public schools, colleges and high schools, the wearing of any sign or outfit by which students purport to express a religious affiliation is prohibited.” She adds that “the Rules of Procedure recall that the implementation of a disciplinary procedure is preceded by a dialogue with the student”.
Pap Ndiaye was arrested on Tuesday over the issue
The new Minister of Education, Pap Ndiaye, who was questioned this Tuesday during the traditional press conference following the Council of Ministers, believed that the phenomenon of religious dress in schools should be assessed at the national level. The successor to Jean-Michel Blanquer, whose appointment last May sparked an outcry, particularly on the right, largely for previous comments on the burning issue of police violence, indicated a body of intelligence gathering was underway. to have a very general idea of this situation and to be able to characterize it calmly at national level”.
The minister also insisted on recalling the basics of the 2004 law, noting that there are also teams called “Republic Values” working on these issues. “We are therefore very well equipped to respond to this phenomenon, it is still necessary to measure it well and evaluate it well at national level,” he assured, adding that tomorrow there will be a meeting with rectors on the subject must be Thursday in order to have “the clearest and calmest possible view”.
Survey conducted on June 14th and 15th, 2022 using a self-completed online questionnaire with a representative panel of 1,010 people aged 18 and over using the quota method.