Louise Sallé / Photo credits: MAGALI COHEN / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 7:51 a.m., February 21, 2024

A photo of a student in a full veil at the University of Lille, others of Muslim students praying in libraries at the University of Montpellier... Several photos of this type have been distributed on the networks social. Practices that are nevertheless prohibited by law.

The right-wing student union, UNI, published on X a few days ago a photo showing a student wearing the full veil at the University of Lille. A prohibited practice, just like videos recently relayed by the same union, showing Muslim students praying in libraries at the universities of Montpellier and Aix-Marseille.

It is nevertheless difficult to know if these incidents are increasing, or if they are more visible because they are more widely reported on social networks. There are no figures to demonstrate this. This remains a phenomenon that worries universities.

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“We no longer have very ostentatious outfits”

Because the law is clear: on campus, wearing a full veil is prohibited, as is the practice of prayer, outside of dedicated rooms. The president of the University of Strasbourg, the priest and theologian Michel Deneken, has not been confronted with this type of incident recently. But he remains on his guard. “We still have more very ostentatious outfits than before, notably extremely pronounced, visible veils, even full-length clothing… There is clearly an increase in these outfits,” he confides. 

At his university, among the student unions recently elected to the CROUS (Regional Center for University and School Work), a new organization has appeared: “Muslim Students of France” (EMF). On a national scale, however, this union only obtained one seat, in Strasbourg. “By reading their leaflets and going to their site, it is difficult to distinguish the substance of their demands”, he indicates. “They fight against Islamophobia, but I also fight personally against Islamophobia or anti-Semitism!” 

A “proselytizing” religious presence to which students become accustomed

For CNRS researcher Florence Bergeaud-Blackler, wearing the full veil, prayers in libraries, and the arrival of this union are linked. These acts of religious demonstration testify to a proselytism which is gaining momentum at the university, and which the institutions have not yet taken the measure of.  

“When we do surveys among young people, they say that we are making a bit of a fuss about it, that secularism is fine, that we have the right to dress as we want…”, reports the anthropologist. “In fact, they have become completely accustomed to this religious presence which is a proselytizing presence,” she explains. “Proselytism is when you want to impose your universe on someone who hasn’t asked for anything, you seek to influence them,” summarizes Florence Bergeaud-Blackler.

According to her, Islamism has experienced a renewed influence at the university since October 7. With numerous pro-Palestinian mobilizations organized in colleges, masking pro-Hamas demands.