PARIS — A special presidential commission delivered a long-awaited report on secularity Dec. 11, recommending France pass a law banning the wearing of veils, skullcaps and other “ostentatious” religious accessories in public schools.
At the same time, the commission condoned the wearing of less obvious religious symbols, such as small crosses or the Muslim Hands of Fatma.
The group also recommended making the Jewish atonement day of Yom Kippur, along with the holy Muslim day of Aid el Kebir school holidays, alongside Christmas. French employees would be allowed to select their religious holiday.
The commission’s recommendations cap months of raging debate over whether to bar Muslim girls from wearing veils or headscarves while attending public schools.
A recent report by a separate parliamentary commission also backed a law banning veils and other religious accessories in public schools. And a poll published in December by France Info radio found 57 percent of French backed such legislation.
Headscarf battles resurged with a vengeance this year. But today, the religious clashes extend well beyond the headscarf, government officials and experts say.
In some cases, Muslim girls boycott school gym classes, and Muslim boys refuse to be taught by female teachers. In immigrant-heavy suburbs, Muslim leaders have demanded separate swimming hours for men and women in public pools. Female patients in public hospitals have refused to be treated by male doctors.
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