From schools to the Olympics, how France's staunch secularism affects religion in public life

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But France’s principle of “laïcité,” loosely translated as “secularism,” means no “excessive” crosses, or kippahs, or Islamic head coverings can be worn by staff, students and players in public schools, hospitals, courts and sports fields — though visitors and spectators can. SECULARISM AS A CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE The French Constitution states that “France is an indivisible, lay, democratic and social Republic.” A 1905 law codifying the separation of church and state, freeing each from the other’s influence, is similar to most other modern democratic states’ that also contended with a violent history of religious conflicts and absolutist regimes. The country’s highest administrative court found schools could limit religious symbols that are ostentatious or worn “in a spirit of protest.” After a surge in incidents, a 2004 law banned wearing anything that “clearly manifests religious belonging” in public schools, though not in universities. France’s ban on religious symbols for its athletes at the Olympics is in line not only with the country’s secularism and neutrality principles, but with the Olympic charter, said Médéric Chapitaux, an expert on sports and religion who’s also a member of the French government's council on laïcité.