The issue first arose when a Professor of Paris XIII university made a comment saying he did not support "religious symbols in public places" and he was demoted for his harsh comments to the student. There was also another incident at Sarbone University where a professor referred to a student's hijab as "that thing".
This nonacceptance of hijabs came after several terrorist attacks by Muslim immigrants. After these attacks people began to question if it was possible to be a "French Muslim". The president of Sarbone University , who did apologize for the harsh comments from the professor at his institution thinks there should be a "secular teaching of religion" and that France's official secularism ( laïcité) "does not mean forgetting religion , or indeed being in conflict with religion".
There is great debate that "there is no Muslim Community" in France because their lives are very different making it hard for them to be integrated into society.
This reminds me of the banning of niqabs in public spaces in 2010. A video debate I watched discussed the unjustness of banning these headscarves. The French government claimed that the ban made because the headscarves aren't a representation of the country, and also to protect Muslim women from being forced to wear them and the prejudice that accompanies it. However, many Muslim women have expressed that it is their own choice to wear the niqab. It seems to me that forcing them to go without their preferred headscarves is prejudice in its own right. Steps should be taken to prevent prejudice, but not by supressing the beliefs or the rights of those being targeted.
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