It is two years since France banned headscarves, veils and other religious signs from state schools. There were mass protests by French Muslims and dire warnings the new law would radicalise Islamic opinion and deepen already volatile divisions within French society.

Some 120 schoolgirls initially defied the law and one 15-year-old beat the ban by shaving her head.

Today, the ban on veils - which crucially extends to large Christian crosses, Jewish skullcaps and Sikh turbans - is accepted and obeyed.

"We didn't have a single young girl showing up veiled this year for the rentree [start of the school year] which was very satisfying," government education spokesman Samira Bonvoisin told The First Post. "The only ongoing problem is with four Sikh schoolboys who still refuse to remove their turbans." [Link]