The French Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, announced his intention to prohibit the wearing of the hijab by school trip chaperones, arguing that these trips are akin to “schools beyond walls.”
In a radio interview on Tuesday, Retailleau said that the 2004 law prohibiting the wearing of hijabs and other religious symbols in official institutions applies within school premises. He asserted that school trips are an extension of school activities and therefore fall under the same legal framework.
Parents, frequently volunteering as chaperones on school trips, are the primary focus of Retailleau’s remarks, especially mothers who wear hijabs during these outings.
Retailleau declared, “Women accompanying these trips should not wear hijabs. The hijab is a symbol of Islamism and an indication of women’s submission to men.” He further stressed the need for the state to act against the spread of what he described as “radical Islamism” in public spaces, sports activities, and school trips.
These comments were made as France marked the 10th anniversary of the attack on the newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Retailleau claimed that “political Islam poses a threat to the nation,” alleging that its supporters aim to isolate the Muslim community from mainstream French society, undermine national unity, and eventually impose Sharia law.
Retailleau had previously introduced a bill in the Senate in 2021 to ban religious symbols on school trips. While the Senate approved the legislation, it was rejected in the National Assembly.
Additionally, the French Council of State issued a legal opinion in 2013 stating that school trip chaperones are not employees and, therefore, the 2004 law does not apply to them.
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