Chirac calls for school ban on some religious symbols

In an effort to defuse controversy in France over the wearing of headscarves by Islamic schoolgirls, President Jacques Chirac proposed in a speech in Paris on 17 December 2003 that all 'conspicuous' religious symbols worn in French schools be banned by law. Mr Chirac outlined a number of proposals to combat the increasing problem of integration in France's increasingly multi-ethnic society.