France defunds school over teaching Muslim ethics

The French government has targeted the country's biggest Muslim high school by ending its state funding, authorities said, over curriculum that's in line with Islamic values.

The move against the Averroes school, founded 20 years ago in the northern city of Lille, follows a recommendation by a consulting commission that questioning its teaching of Muslim ethics.

According to Le Parisien daily, the commission dubbed the school's teachings of Muslim ethics "to be in violation of French republican values."

The paper said that inspectors belonging to the commission took exception of "an excessive emphasis on Islam in courses on religion" and lack of "LGBTQ content."

The school said it would lodge an appeal with an administrative court.

The high school of 800 pupils – 400 of whom are covered by the state convention – regularly scores highly in academic standards, but came onto the radar of local authorities after receiving a grant from Qatar in 2014.

What's interesting to note is that France's national school inspectors said in a 2020 report that they found nothing at odds with national education guidelines.

But the regional prefecture, in a report in November, said it suspected the Averroes school of illicit financing, and giving students access to texts that goes against the "French values."