E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.4 page 12 51. Law 2004-228, which amended the Education Act, was adopted by a large majority in the National Assembly and across party lines. In its article 1, it provides that in public elementary schools, middle schools (collèges) and secondary schools (lycées), wearing symbols or clothing by which students ostentatiously show a religious identity is prohibited. School rules are to stipulate that any disciplinary procedure must be preceded by dialogue with the student. 52. The assessment of whether a religious symbol constitutes a conspicuous sign is left to the head of the school establishment, a power that is said to have led in some cases to abuse, including in cases where some of the heads decided to ban all manner of head coverings, with even the slightest religious connotation. B. The reasons behind and arguments supporting the law 53. According to many interlocutors, the reasons behind this legislation go beyond the application of the principle of the separation of Church and State. This legislation is also illustrative of the relationship between the French State and religion, in particular certain practices of the Muslim community. 54. The French religious landscape has dramatically changed since 1905, in part as a result of the immigration of a large amount of people from Muslim backgrounds. Throughout the years, the population of Muslim background has significantly increased and, in many places, has settled in some of the so-called banlieues or housing estates. The banlieues are the suburbs surrounding France’s larger cities, such as Paris and Marseilles. The population of the banlieues is often characterized by poverty, high unemployment rates among young people, growing extremism among Muslim youth and an increasing feeling of alienation from French society at large. 55. On 4 October 2002, Sohane Benziane was burnt alive, reportedly for reasons related to her refusal to wear the headscarf. This tragic incident was at the origin of the creation of movements such as Ni putes, ni soumises. In this context, the Special Rapporteur met with representatives of different associations defending, inter alia, women’s rights. These associations mainly claim that most young women of Muslim background wear the headscarf because they are forced to do so by their family and, in particular, by the male members. They emphasize the individual character of the right to freedom of religion and consider that the exercise of this right, which would include the right to wear the headscarf, should be based on free and individual choice. 56. The associations argue that an increasing proportion of young French citizens of Muslim background want to emancipate themselves from the religion to which they are associated. They are of the opinion that Law 2004-228 has provided them with a legitimate means of reaching this goal. 57. The National Assembly and the Government reportedly considered that this law would constitute a means of protecting young women who were not willing to abide by certain so-called religious norms, including the wearing of the headscarf. The banning of religious symbols at school would enable those young female children to freely choose the way they conduct their lives.