Laïcité as a Weapon: the Tool and the Target

Abstract This article considers Laïcité (secularism) in France both through particular stories and the more theoretical stances that have emerged in the past few years. I focus on French schools, especially recent actions taken by the Ministry of Education to promote and instruct students and the public on the values of secularism—activities that notably contribute an increasing feeling of unwelcome among many Muslims in France. I analyze the culture war around hijab that jeopardizes women’s participation in society though attention to women’s voices in the new film Marianne directed by Valentina Canavesio.