(Politico) With the ban on abayas in schools, French President Emmanuel Macron is killing two birds with one stone: He sends a signal to the right and divides the left.
But he also risks opening a Pandora’s box.
The decision to forbid the long, flowing robes worn by some Muslim women has ended a period of hesitation at the top levels of government over its approach to the sacrosanct principle of secularism in France.
The message sent out this week by Macron’s Cabinet was one of resolve and steadfastness. Freshly appointed Education Minister Gabriel Attal said that French schools “were being tested,” while Olivier Véran, the government spokesperson, described the wearing of abayas as “a political attack.”
