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This thesis presents a study of the institutions, forms and manifestations of secularism, or 'laïcité', in France, in the context of a series of events which came to be called the 'affaire du foulard'. The first incidents in the affaire took place in September 1989 with the expulsion of three primary schoolgirls in Creil, in the north of France, who were insisting on wearing the Islamic headscarf (known in French as the 'foulard') to school. Their actions were deemed contrary to the fundamental Republican principle of secularism in public schools, and the events were reported in several newspapers, before becoming a national controversy in media around the country. In this case, however, it was difficult to know how to interpret and apply laïcité in the context of a modern public school in the French Republic. The principle of secularism, or laïcité, is a central tenet of French public policy, and public education in particular. Laïcité also represents a set of social and cultural values which have profound historical resonances for many French people. At the same time, the public schools were unsure of how to negotiate their students’ freedom of religious expression, which, according to historical and legislative texts, is protected and upheld by the concept of laïcité, while also ensuring that the principle of laïcité was maintained. In a bid to resolve the uncertainty, France’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d’État, handed down a legal opinion in November 1989 in which it stated that the wearing of religious signs in public schools was not by itself incompatible with laïcité in France, although the religious signs could be prohibited in certain circumstances. In addition, various ministerial circulars were issued by successive Education Ministers between 1989 and 1994 to advise schools on how the law was to be interpreted and applied in this matter. One of the circulars, issued in 1994 by François Bayrou, encouraged schools to prohibit the wearing of the foulard and to apply strict penalties if Muslim girls continued to wear it. These measures resulted in an increase in the number of Muslim schoolgirls expelled for wearing the foulard, as well as in the numbers of public protests against the expulsions and the circular itself. Some of the schoolgirls and their families appealed against the expulsion decisions, and their cases appeared before France’s administrative courts over the years between 1992 and 1997. My thesis examines the key legal and administrative texts in the affaire du foulard, including the Conseil d’État’s 1989 legal opinion and the ministerial circulars, noting the legal implications of successive circulars and the shifts in government policy which they represented. In addition, my thesis analyses the transcripts of many of the legal judgements in the “headscarf” legal cases. These judgements were important not only in deciding the future education of the schoolgirls, but also in clarifying the 1989 opinion. They established a consistent set of principles to define the circumstances in which wearing religious signs such as the foulard was considered compatible or not with laïcité in public schools. The results of this analysis indicate that, contrary to popular opinion in relation to the affaire du foulard, the majority of cases were decided in the Muslim girls’ favour and upheld their right to wear a religious sign such as the Islamic headscarf at school. Recently, however, the legal regime in France governing the wearing of religious signs has changed. In early 2004, a new law on secularism was passed by the French Parliament to prohibit the wearing of the foulard (and indeed all visible religious signs) in public schools. The law has been welcomed by many sectors of the French community, but has also provoked extensive public protests. The passage of the new law does not alter either the analytical work or the conclusions of this thesis. Rather, the thesis offers an insight into the background of the affaire du foulard and thus a more informed appreciation of the potential legal and social consequences of the 2004 law in future years. The principal aim of this thesis is to provide a careful account of the institutions and operation of the principle of secularism, or laïcité, in France. My research also explains some of the complexities of the legislative regime established by the Conseil d’État and the administrative courts, who worked to balance priorities of freedom of religion and laïcité as well as to protect the education of many expelled Muslim schoolgirls, and in so doing, my thesis highlights the complexity of the principle of laïcité itself.

This thesis presents a study of the institutions, forms and manifestations of secularism, or 'laïcité', in France, in the context of a series of events which came to be called the 'affaire du foulard'. The first incidents in the affaire took place in September 1989 with the expulsion of three primary schoolgirls in Creil, in the north of France, who were insisting on wearing the Islamic headscarf (known in French as the 'foulard') to school. Their actions were deemed contrary to the fundamental Republican principle of secularism in public schools, and the events were reported in several newspapers, before becoming a national controversy in media around the country. In this case, however, it was difficult to know how to interpret and apply laïcité in the context of a modern public school in the French Republic. The principle of secularism, or laïcité, is a central tenet of French public policy, and public education in particular. Laïcité also represents a set of social and cultural values which have profound historical resonances for many French people. At the same time, the public schools were unsure of how to negotiate their students’ freedom of religious expression, which, according to historical and legislative texts, is protected and upheld by the concept of laïcité, while also ensuring that the principle of laïcité was maintained. In a bid to resolve the uncertainty, France’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d’État, handed down a legal opinion in November 1989 in which it stated that the wearing of religious signs in public schools was not by itself incompatible with laïcité in France, although the religious signs could be prohibited in certain circumstances. In addition, various ministerial circulars were issued by successive Education Ministers between 1989 and 1994 to advise schools on how the law was to be interpreted and applied in this matter. One of the circulars, issued in 1994 by François Bayrou, encouraged schools to prohibit the wearing of the foulard and to apply strict penalties if Muslim girls continued to wear it. These measures resulted in an increase in the number of Muslim schoolgirls expelled for wearing the foulard, as well as in the numbers of public protests against the expulsions and the circular itself. Some of the schoolgirls and their families appealed against the expulsion decisions, and their cases appeared before France’s administrative courts over the years between 1992 and 1997. My thesis examines the key legal and administrative texts in the affaire du foulard, including the Conseil d’État’s 1989 legal opinion and the ministerial circulars, noting the legal implications of successive circulars and the shifts in government policy which they represented. In addition, my thesis analyses the transcripts of many of the legal judgements in the “headscarf” legal cases. These judgements were important not only in deciding the future education of the schoolgirls, but also in clarifying the 1989 opinion. They established a consistent set of principles to define the circumstances in which wearing religious signs such as the foulard was considered compatible or not with laïcité in public schools. The results of this analysis indicate that, contrary to popular opinion in relation to the affaire du foulard, the majority of cases were decided in the Muslim girls’ favour and upheld their right to wear a religious sign such as the Islamic headscarf at school. Recently, however, the legal regime in France governing the wearing of religious signs has changed. In early 2004, a new law on secularism was passed by the French Parliament to prohibit the wearing of the foulard (and indeed all visible religious signs) in public schools. The law has been welcomed by many sectors of the French community, but has also provoked extensive public protests. The passage of the new law does not alter either the analytical work or the conclusions of this thesis. Rather, the thesis offers an insight into the background of the affaire du foulard and thus a more informed appreciation of the potential legal and social consequences of the 2004 law in future years. The principal aim of this thesis is to provide a careful account of the institutions and operation of the principle of secularism, or laïcité, in France. My research also explains some of the complexities of the legislative regime established by the Conseil d’État and the administrative courts, who worked to balance priorities of freedom of religion and laïcité as well as to protect the education of many expelled Muslim schoolgirls, and in so doing, my thesis highlights the complexity of the principle of laïcité itself.