"We were worried by a strong increase in the (the number of pupils) wearing the abaya. Sophie Venetitay, from the SNES-FSU union, said it was key to focus on dialogue with pupils and families to ensure the ban did not mean children will be taken away from state-run schools to go to religious schools. In 2004, France banned headscarves in schools and passed a ban on full face veils in public in 2010, angering some in its five million-strong Muslim community. Abdallah Zekri, vice-chair of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), made a similar point, saying Attal's decision was misguided. "The abaya is not religious attire, it's a type of fashion," he told BFM TV.

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Persons: Gabriel Attal, Eric Ciotti, Clementine Autain, France Insoumise, Didier Georges, Georges, Samuel Paty, Sophie Venetitay, Pap Ndiaye, Abdallah Zekri, BFM, Juliette Jabkhiro, Tassilo Hummel, Bertrand Boucey, Ingrid Melander, Nick Macfie Organizations: Reuters, FSU, French Council of, Thomson Locations: France, PARIS