At least 67 students were denied access to schools after they refused to remove their abayas following a controversial ban on the baggy, modest dress in France.
Defying a ban on the dress – worn by women in several Arab, Middle Eastern and North African countries – nearly 300 girls showed up on Monday morning wearing an abaya, Education Minister Gabriel Attal told a local broadcaster Tuesday.
Most agreed to change out of the dress, but 67 refused and were sent home, he claimed, adding, "I do not want to be able to identify students' religion in schools by looking at their outfit."
The government announced the controversial ban on the abaya in schools last month, claiming it broke France's strict brand of secularism, also known as "laicite," which has already seen Muslim headscarves banned.
The move to ban abaya drew criticism and ridicule from rights and religious minority groups but was applauded by French conservatives.
The left has accused the government of centrist President Emmanuel Macron of trying with the abaya ban to compete with Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally and shifting further to the right.
Clementine Autain, a lawmaker for the hard-left France Insoumise, criticized what she called the "clothes police" and a move "characteristic of an obsessional rejection of Muslims."
Abdallah Zekri, vice-chair of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), made a similar point, saying Attal's decision was misguided.
"The abaya is not religious attire, it's a type of fashion," he told BFM TV.
Meanwhile, President Macron, who backed last week's decision to ban abaya and kameez, a type of ankle-length shirt for men, said in an interview Monday that a unique attire could be adopted in schools, such as a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket.
The controversial move sparked a backlash against the government, which has been criticized in recent years for targeting Muslims with statements and policies, including raids on mosques and charitable foundations, and an "anti-separatism" law that imposes broad restrictions on the community.
Earlier on Friday, Vincent Brengarth, the lawyer for the Muslim Rights Action (ADM), said on X that they filed an appeal against the ban at the Council of State for violating "several fundamental freedoms."
The French top court was set to begin examining the case Tuesday afternoon.
