“The school life service has been reinforcedwe warn the rectorate of Paris, and enhanced surveillance of the premises. » The Lycée Charlemagne, one of the schools of the 4e arrondissement of Paris, which is also one of the baccalaureate examination centers, has been the subject of particular attention from the academic, judicial and prefectural services since an investigation was opened on Friday June 17 by the national fight against online hatred of the Paris prosecutor’s office, after the filing of a complaint by a senior education adviser (CPE), victim of death threats and online harassment.
The facts date back to Thursday, June 16, when a young girl wearing the veil presented herself in front of her examination center, the Lycée Charlemagne, to take part in the anticipated tests of 1re – in other words, in written French. The CPE, at the entrance, would have forbidden her to enter if she did not remove her veil. Then, according to a police source quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the versions diverge. The CPE ensures that the student refused to reveal himself; the high school student claims to have done so, but was unable to enter the establishment immediately.
“Tense exchanges”
A testimony of this student, appearing from the back, a pink veil over her hair, was posted online by the far-left website Permanent Revolution; it echoes the first version. Mediapart also relayed the testimony of the young girl claiming to have been “attacked”. The elements transmitted by the rectorate of Paris confirm “tense exchanges”but they relay another story:
“According to the first information collected, this candidate initially refused to remove her veil, contrary to the regulations in force, in order to enter the school and carry out identity checks, despite reminders to the law carried out on several occasions by the personnel of school life, present at the reception. »
The tone would have risen, “before the candidate finally agrees to remove her veil, and she can be accompanied to her room”.
Pupils may not wear signs (…) by which they “conspicuously manifest a religious affiliation” when they take tests.
The wearing of religious symbols during exams is framed by the Vademecum of secularism, a sort of toolbox produced by the Council of Elders of Secularism, for use by the educational community, in 2018, and regularly updated since. On the subject, it is recalled that article L141-5-1 of the education code applies to students educated in the public – and this is indeed the case of this teenager, the rectorate confirmed to us. These students may not wear signs or clothing by which they “conspicuously manifest a religious affiliation” when they pass the tests of a competition or an examination, can we read there. On the other hand, these provisions do not apply to candidates from the private sector, even if they are summoned to the premises of a public establishment. “They do not become pupils of public education by this fact alone”, says the Vademecum. They must nevertheless submit to the rules of organization, control of their identity and prevention of the risk of fraud.
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