Veils

BBC

"Some teachers would not see beyond the scarf and judge us - it's best if we have to take it off," says Siham, 15.

I agree. It should be a matter of choice, though.

But the key to the ban's success has been its enduring popularity. All political parties endorsed it.

There is, in fact a lot of opposition to the ban-and not only from Muslims. Many who oppose the ban are secularists and feminists-they oppose the ban because they believe in a school for all, regardless of beliefs, ethnicity or whatever. In France, school-children no longer wear a uniform. If the so-called republican leaders want to tell kids what they can and can't wear, why not bring back the uniform?

It remains contentious, not so much for the French Muslim community as a whole - which includes many secularists - but for youngsters with North African roots who have found a sense of identity through religion.

I certainly don't wish for violent reaction, but this law is yet another example of colonial and latent racist attitudes in France. This is not the sole reason for violence in certain suburbs of Paris, but I doubt it favours integration.