French opposition considers decision to cut state support for Muslim lycées "discriminatory"

The opposition in France has said that the cancellation of a state contract with Lycée Averroes (Ibni Rushd), one of the country's leading educational institutions for Muslim students, is an "anti-Islamic" and "discriminatory" decision.

According to the French edition of Le Figaro, Paul Vannier, a member of the opposition party "Inexorable France" (LFI), condemned the termination of state support to the Lycée Averroes.

Vannier noted that the decision taken by the governor of the French Hauts-de-France region regarding the Lycée in Lille had not been implemented for other private lycées.

"There is a shocking double standard on the face of it. If there is something in this lycée that needs to be fixed, it should be fixed," he said.

Earlier, the governor's administration of the French region of Eau -de-France decided to terminate the state contract with the private lycée Averroens.

The regional authorities explained the decision by saying that the education provided at the lycée "does not fully meet" the expectations of the curriculum of the French Ministry of National Education in terms of "source and content".

The lycée began operating in 2003 and was the first to open its doors to Muslims who could not go to other educational institutions because they wore headscarves.

Alongside the lyceum, which has seen an increase in the number of students over the years, the Averroes Secondary School began operating in 2012. Today, the Averroes High School and Lyceum has more than 800 students.