French President Emmanuel Macron called for a firm approach to banning the wearing of veils and other Islamic clothing just three days before the start of the school year.
During his visit to a vocational high school in Orange, southern France, he stated that the government "will not let anything pass. We know that there may be cases ... perhaps due to negligence, but there are many cases of attempting to challenge the republican system. We must be firm."
On Thursday evening, French Education Minister Gabriel Attal sent a memo to heads of educational institutions reaffirming that wearing veils and long shirts "express religious affiliation in the school environment and cannot be tolerated there."