French court upholds ban on girls wearing abayas in schools

State council rejected complaints that ban was discriminatory and could incite hatred against Muslims

France's top administrative court has upheld a government ban on girls in state schools wearing abayas, rejecting complaints that it was discriminatory and could incite hatred.

The government announced just before schools reopened this week that the abaya, a long, flowing dress worn by some Muslim women, would no longer be allowed because it violated the French principle of secularism, or laicite.