to be brought into classrooms, and "ostentatious" religious symbols (including the hijab), which were to be forbidden in public establishments. In October of that year, students at Lycée Saint-Exupéry (a high school) in Mantes-la-Jolie organized a protest in favor of the right to wear the veil in classrooms. In November, 24 veiled students were suspended from the same high school as well as from Lycée Faidherbe in Lille. Between 1994 and 2003, around 100 female students were suspended or expelled from middle and high schools for wearing the scarf in class. In nearly half of these cases, their exclusions were annulled by the French courts. Scholars have drawn connections between France's regulations on headscarves and historical colonialism, as well as France's difficulties in assimilating the Muslim population into society. Joan Scott argued that right-wing parties (including Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front) used the controversies to conflate North African immigrants with Islamic fundamentalism. Political and cultural context Political positions The most debated point is whether or not students have the right to wear the scarf in classes in public establishments such as primary and secondary schools, as well as universities. Meanwhile, the controversy has contributed to discussions of the principle of secularism, which is the foundation of the 1905 law of separation of church and state in France. The two principal positions that have emerged are: A complete preservation of the "principle of secularism" as an element of freedom. This is the position taken most notably by Jacques Chirac as well as by certain leftists such as Jean-Pierre Chevènement. An abandonment of the principle of secularity for the benefit of total religious freedom, and for the recognition of religious communities. This Anglo-Saxon-based community model was defended most notably by Nicolas Sarkozy, as well as some leftists and certain Greens. This debate has thus contributed in blurring the limits between the left and right on the traditional spectrum in France, and has revealed divergences on new political levels, especially between "republicans" (proponents of intervention by the secular Republic) and "liberals" (in an older sense of the French term referring to those who support the liberties of the individual). Muslim tradition The tradition of the headscarf itself has been in existence since before the advent of Islam, and depictions of Mary, mother of Jesus, show her wearing a hair covering. In Orthodox Judaism, many married women cover their hair with a form of