Legislative Enclosure

In a spectacular example of legislative enclosure, the French Government has just passed a law banning religious symbols in public schools. The legislation bans "conspicuous" religious symbols from public classrooms, and is to be effective from the beginning of the new school year in September. The ban is to include Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses but is primarily targeted at those who wear the Islamic head scarf. In the long term this is likely going to cause no end of grief, and is hardly going to help. Another blatant example of the best of intentions serving as a justification for practices of enclosure.

For brief background to what is going on, check out:

http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,6119,2-10-1462_1481420,00.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,11882,1135334,00.html