Ken. The socialist Republic of France

[Blott]

Knows how to deal with religion.


Why should a teenage girl not be able to express her religious beliefs and at the same time pursue an education at school?

It is a tough question, but one to which the French believe they have an answer.

Which is, broadly, because there is such a thing as a French nation, and the teenager is part of it. Nothing defines France, and separates it from its neighbours, quite so clearly as the issue of la laïcité, or secularism.

So this week, as outsiders looked on with a mixture of astonishment and outrage at the banning of the traditional Muslim abaya robe in schools, the French themselves gave the measure an overwhelming 81% thumbs-up, according to polls.