France’s education minister says the country will ban children from wearing the abaya – the loose-fitting, full-length robe worn by some Muslim women – in state-run schools ahead of the back-to-school season.
France has struggled to update guidelines to deal with a growing Muslim minority.
French public schools do not permit the wearing of large crosses, Jewish kippas or Islamic headscarves.
Education Minister Gabriel Attal says When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them.
The move comes after months of debate over the wearing of abayas in French schools, where women have long been banned from wearing the hijab.