
Midi Libre, Friday 28 July 2023
Most countries have hot button issues that are unique to them. Topics that seem to get everyone riled up, while the same thing in other countries is largely uncontroversial.
Take Covid vaccines. In the US, whether or not you had the vaccine seemed to become a marker of which side of the political aisle you were. Or identity cards. In the UK, every time any government dares to propose their introduction, a sizeable number of people start invoking 1984 and Big Brother while in most European countries they are just an accepted part of every day life.
In France, one such issue is the school uniform. In many countries, school uniform is a non-political, uninteresting and accepted fact of life. In the UK, for example, close to 100% of schools have uniform policies. The only time uniform tends to become a newsworthy topic is on a technicality, such as boys wearing skirts to school to protest against having to wear long trousers in hot weather.
In France, though, school uniform is definitely one of those hot button issues. Supporters and opponents tend to split down party lines, with the right in favour and the left against.
Newly-appointed education minister Gabriel Attal opened the school uniform can of worms this week.
Attal is just over a week into his new job and has a lot on his plate. He even cancelled his planned holiday to Corsica to focus on his in-tray. On his first day he visited a school damaged in the recent riots.
In his first major interview about his plans, Attal talked about plans to get a grip on bullying and make sure there are enough teachers in place come the return to school in September. He also told Midi-Libre he is in favour of introducing school uniform if the educational establishment wants to give it a try.
Cue outrage on all sides.
For Eric Zemmour of the right-wing party Reconquête, a big supporter of school uniform, this statement was not enough. He tweeted that the proposal was “yet another half-measure” that didn’t go far enough in making uniform a requirement for all schools.

School uniform is the debate in France that keeps on giving. Earlier this year, the president’s wife got involved when she said she supported school uniform. In an interview with Le Parisien, Brigitte Macron said she had worn uniform herself as a pupil and enjoyed it. She believes it was not only more equal but also more efficient, as it saved time on getting dressed in the morning as well as money on expensive brands.
Her remarks came just as a proposal on school uniform was being debated in parliament. The proposed legislation from the Rassemblement National would have made uniform compulsory. Brigitte Macron’s remarks led to one La France Insoumise député calling her the ‘new education minister’.

Marine Le Pen defended the proposal by saying it delivered on two objectives. First to “iron out social discrimination” and second to push back against “Islamism in schools”.

That second point is in reference to reports that a growing number of girls are going to school wearing the abaya, the full-length dress that covers the body. It is regarded by many as a religious symbol, thus putting it in contravention of France’s strict rules on keeping religion out of the public school system.
The proposal failed to pass so the debate rumbles on.
Attal’s half-hearted support for school uniforms means it’s unlikely to be enacted any time soon and, as he himself said, school uniform is never going to be the magic solution to all the problems in schools. However, putting himself on the side of school uniform helps build his intended image as someone who is going to deliver on the promise he made on his first day in the job to restore order and respect in French schools.
Opmerkingen