- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin to talk gas deliveries
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 35
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Mbappe back from 'bottom' as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- France kept on tenterhooks over new government
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- 'Nervous' Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
- Germany pledges security inquest into Christmas market attack
- Death toll in Brazil bus crash rises to 41
- Joshua bout only fight left for beaten Fury says promoter Hearn
- Odermatt stays hot to break Swiss World Cup wins record
- Neville says Rashford's career at Man Utd nearing 'inevitable ending'
- Syria's new leader vows not to negatively interfere in Lebanon
- Germany pledges security inquest after Christmas market attack
- Putin vows 'destruction' on Ukraine after Kazan drone attack
- Understated Usyk seeks recognition among boxing legends
- France awaits appointment of new government
Paris officials rally in support of school headmaster in hijab row
French lawmakers and officials joined dozens of people who gathered in Paris on Friday in a show of support for a school principal who resigned after receiving death threats in a hijab row.
This week the headmaster at the Maurice-Ravel senior school in eastern Paris quit after receiving death threats online following an altercation with a student last month.
His departure sparked outrage, with Prime Minister Gabriel Attal saying France would seek to defend secularism.
On Friday morning around 50 people gathered in front of the school in the French capital's 20th district, heeding the call from the Socialist Party, an AFP journalist saw.
Lawmakers and officials including Paris deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire took part in the gathering amid heightened security. Several parents also turned up.
Frederic, a parent at the school who declined to give his last name, said that for the past month pupils there had been "a bit agitated".
The headmaster's resignation had left parents feeling guilty, he told AFP.
"We wondered if we'd shown enough support."
Secularism and religion are hot-button issues in France, which is home to Europe's largest Muslim community.
The headmaster's departure comes amid tensions in France following several attack threats aimed at schools, and the murder of two teachers by radicalised former pupils, in 2020 and 2023.
In 2004, authorities banned school children from wearing "signs or outfits by which students ostensibly show a religious affiliation" -- such as headscarves, turbans or kippas -- on the basis of the country's secular laws, which are meant to guarantee neutrality in state institutions.
- 'Collective failure' -
Martin Raffet, head of parents' association FCPE Paris, said that some pupils did not understand the concept of secularism.
"The law needs to be discussed. Some pupils don't understand it.
"We need to take the time to explain it to them and show them that we don't stigmatise religions," Raffet said.
"We can't protect school heads from this type of attack," he added.
In late February, the headmaster had asked three students to remove their Islamic headscarves on the school premises.
But one of them -- an adult who was attending for vocational training -- refused and an altercation ensued, according to prosecutors.
The principal later received death threats online.
He said that he had taken the decision to leave, citing his safety and that of the school.
Education officials said he had taken "early retirement".
The SGEN-CFDT teachers' union called his departure "a collective failure".
"The repetition of this type of scenario, against a backdrop of the instrumentalisation of religious beliefs, is unacceptable and could lead to tragedy," the union said.
"We know this only too well in the French education system, following the murder of Samuel Paty."
Paty, a 47-year-old history and geography teacher, was stabbed and then beheaded by a radicalised Islamist near his secondary school in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in 2020.
P.Costa--AMWN