While the controversy has been swelling for several days, the Ministry of the Interior reacted this Sunday. In the Toulouse academy, police officers asked school heads, by email and without the approval of the rectorate, to tell them the number of students absent on the day of Eid al-Fitr, a holiday that marks the end of Ramadan and celebrated on April 21. A request that has aroused the indignation of the educational community and associations such as SOS Racisme.
In a statement, the Secretary of State for Citizenship, Sonia Backès, acknowledges that the Ministry of the Interior has requested in some academies an "assessment of the rate of absenteeism observed on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr" but denies any desire to "file" students according to their faith.
"The Ministry of the Interior and Overseas regularly studies the impact of certain religious holidays on the functioning of public services, and especially within the school sphere," she continued. And to insist: "No nominative data was requested or recorded at any time. "
Contrary to what has been said in recent days, the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas obviously does not practice any registration of students according to their faith.
No nominative data was requested or collected at any time. pic.twitter.com/U8rs5t3rtH
— Sonia Backes (@SoniaBackes) May 21, 2023
Union of Mosques calls for investigation
Associations, trade union or political leaders have expressed concern about this police initiative, some like the former socialist deputy Jean-Christophe Cambadélis evoking "a file in the whole city". The request of the police is "particularly shocking in that it associates Muslim religious practice with a question of security," said in a statement SOS Racism, recalling that the request to schools came from the departmental directorate of public security (DDSP).
The Sud Education union, for its part, denounced "Islamophobic excesses" in the administration. "AESH colleagues and agents were refused leave of absence," for the day of the holiday, unlike teachers, he said. The Union of Mosques of France for its part called for a "proper investigation": "The families must be duly informed and reassured of the fate of the information given by some heads of establishments who, unfortunately, responded to the request of the police. "
A source close to the case had evoked to AFP a "clumsiness" in the formulation of the request relayed by the police referents of the National Education for the benefit of territorial intelligence.