PARIS, Dec. 21 – Protest against France’s proposed ban is becoming more active. Washington Times reports that thousands of people protested on the streets of Paris Sunday Dec. 21 against France's proposed ban on head scarves in public schools.
Several hundred Muslim women and girls were among the protesters waving French flags and chanting "my veil, my choice."
French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday proposed banning religious symbols, including Jewish skullcaps, Muslim hajibs or scarves and large Christian crosses from state-funded schools starting next year stating that the bans are necessary to keep church and state separate. Chirac has asked parliament to pass a law implementing the ban.
Many Muslim women wear head scarves as a show of their faith and tradition. They claim the law would discriminate against France's five million Muslims.
Polls show that two-thirds of French people support the ban, as do many schoolteachers.