France stop it's funding for biggest Muslim school

Averroes first private Muslim high school opened in 2003

France will stop funding for its biggest Muslim high school on the grounds of administrative failures and questionable teaching practices, a local official said on Monday.

Averroes first private Muslim high school which open in mainland France in 2003 in the northern city of Lille, has more than 800 pupils and has been under contract with the state since 2008. Pupils follow the regular French curriculum, and are also offered religion classes.

But in an October report seen by Reuters, the interior ministry's local office said the school was suffering from administrative and financial dysfunction and that some teaching did not align with French republican values.

The interior ministry's local office declined to provide more details on the contract termination.

Many Muslims feel France - home to the largest Muslim population in Europe - has become more hostile towards them, especially after France suffered a string of deadly jihadist attacks in 2015.

In September, the education minister banned the abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robe worn by some Muslim women, in public schools. Last year, a deportation order was given to an imam from the same area of northern France.

Averroes headmaster Eric Dufour said he had yet to receive notification from the interior ministry's local office, but that the school intended to challenge the decision in administrative court.

The ministry didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.

Headmaster Dufour said that without public funding, the school would be unable to meet its budget needs.