Paris (AFP)
Former Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Friday "totally" agree with the Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer for whom the veil is "not desirable in our society."
"I always said that, in fact, the veil was a way of covering up what women are and that it was unbearable for me as a republican, as a man on the left, as a progressive," Valls added. Europe 1.
Now a Barcelona city councilor, the former prime minister, a defender of strict secularism, said he had "a lot of affection and admiration for Jean-Michel Blanquer".
"The secularism, the Republic, (must) be applied clearly" in school outings, he said, a week after a regional councilor RN of Burgundy-Franche-Comté created the controversy by asking the exclusion a veiled woman, school accompanist, a meeting of the regional council.
"Maybe this debate hides another, it is the rise of communitarianism, it is what puts in question, especially in the popular districts, permanently Republic," added Mr. Valls.
"Political Islam leads to Islamism, Islamism to radicalization and radicalization can lead, not always, can lead to terrorism," said Manuel Valls.
"We must simply help our fellow Muslims, French, to fight as best as possible what is doing so much harm in Islam in France, in Europe and in the world, so for that we must be very clear on the principles", he said.
© 2019 AFP