NAJAT VALLAUD-BELKACEM

If you're asking me in a general context whether I'm for or against the burkini, the response is simple: I oppose the burkini.

We know that if religion is allowed into schools, pupils will sometimes begin to question the teaching they receive.

Compared to some of our neighbours, it's not frowned upon to be a mother and work in France.

It's more necessary than ever before to ensure that discernment and the development of a critical mind guide our take on the world and inform our relationship to the media and information.

I was very shy and reserved, so it was a bit contradictory to get into politics.

I molded myself against le Front National. Against hate speech, be it racist, sexist, xenophobic, or homophobic. Against the kind of injustice I faced during my own life.

I'm like all parents who try to shelter their children.

Teachers alone can't educate young people.

Some Muslim students experience secularism as an act of aggression.

We have to reappropriate the concept of laicite (secularism) so we can explain to our young pupils that whatever their faith, they belong to this idea, and they're not excluded. Secularism is not something against them; it protects them.

Low income persons in need of social housing should be housed in more prosperous areas to avoid placing an extra burden on the poorer areas and to redress the balance in terms of housing, redressing the balance in terms of schooling.

Do we have to give Mr Sarkozy a history lesson? Yes, there are Gauls among our ancestors. But there are also Romans, Normans, Celts, Nicois, Corsicans, Arabs, Italians, Spanish. That's France.

It is not just family that must transmit values, but school also.

Reading changes your perspective and feeds your imagination.

It was the students who entered kindergarten in 2011 who are - and I am weighing my words carefully - the sacrificed generation. It is they who have paid a high price for the politics of yesterday - that is to say, the government of Mr. Fillon.

You should be appeasing people as much as possible, not stigmatising them. The ban of the burkini puts into question people's individual freedoms.

There is no link between the terror attacks of Daesh and the dress of a woman on the beach.

My dream of society is a society where women are free and proud of their bodies.

The proliferation of bans fuels stereotypes and discriminates against a community.

On certain, delicate subjects, bringing in outsiders to talk about values is pertinent because pupils listen to them more attentively.

I decided to make a lifetime commitment against social injustices, against inequalities, and that is why I am profoundly from the Left.

It's important to understand that one gender is not superior to the other.

People can't even imagine that it's possible to succeed anymore.

We have several million Muslims in France who are mostly moderates or non-practicing. If they feel that it is the only subject in public debate, they won't feel at home and will be tempted to withdraw to their communities.

The education ministry files suit every time there is a case of identity fraud.