Faced with an uproar, the Ministry of the Interior explained in a press release that it had, in fact, asked in certain academies an “evaluation of the absenteeism rate noted during Eid al-Fitr”, but denies all “filing”.
The outcry is caused after police asked the heads of schools in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) to tell them the number of students absent on Eid Al-Fitr, which took place on April 21 this year.
Several policies and associations have denounced a desire to file a religious group and have said their indignation.
This request, which dates back to April 26, was revealed last Friday by La Dépêche du Midi. The heads of schools and school directors of secondary education received an email from the Departmental Public Security Directorate (DDSP) in Haute-Garonne on that day.
They were asked by “intelligence services”, in order to “know the percentage of absenteeism on Friday April 21, 2023, during the Eid Festival”.
In the press release published on Sunday, the Secretary of State for Citizenship Sonia Backès assures her that “the Ministry of the Interior and Overseas regularly studies the impact of certain religious festivals on the functioning of public services, and in particular within the school sphere. »»
It is within this framework that a request to know the rate of absenteeism was sent “in certain academies”.