The French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools is an amendment to the French Code of Education banning students from wearing conspicuous religious symbols in French public primary and secondary schools. The law expands principles founded in existing French law, especially the constitutional requirement of laïcité: the separation of state and religious activities. The bill passed France's national legislature and was signed into law by President Jacques Chirac on March 15, 2004 and came into effect on September 2, 2004, at the beginning of the new school year. The law does not mention any particular symbol, though it is considered by many to specifically target the wearing of headscarves (hijab) by Muslim schoolgirls. The law was controversial: while its proponents contended that it protected young Muslim women from peer pressure to wear the veil, critics claimed that it infringed on religious freedom.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1415: Hundred Years' War: Henry V of England and his lightly armored infantry and archers defeated the heavily armored French cavalry in the Battle of Agincourt. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Agincourt)

1854: Charge of the Light Brigade: Lord Cardigan led his cavalry to disaster in the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_of_the_Light_Brigade)

1944: The Battle of Leyte Gulf sealed the defeat of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific Theater of World War II. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf)

1971: People's Republic of China replaced the Republic of China as China's representative at the United Nations. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_and_the_United_Nations)

1983: Operation Urgent Fury: The United States and Caribbean allies invaded Grenada, six days after Bernard Coard seized power in a violent coup d'état. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Grenada)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"Few men during their lifetime come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used." -- Richard E. Byrd (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_E._Byrd)