Pupils will be banned from wearing abayas – loose-fitting full-length robes worn by some Muslim women – in France’s state-run schools, the education minister has said.

The rule will be applied as soon as the new school year starts on 4 September.

France has a strict ban on religious signs in state schools and government buildings, arguing that they violate secular laws.

Wearing a headscarf has been banned since 2004 in state-run schools.

Please subscribe here: http://bit.ly/1rbfUog

#BBCNews