"The 2004 French controversy over the banning of head scarves, which was included along with other “overtly religious garb” (crucifixes, skullcaps, turbans), is a vivid reflection of the convulsions that French national identity has been undergoing for the last two decades. The 2004 law was the culmination of the so-called “affaires du foulard” which began in 1989 with the determination of three Muslim girls to wear headscarves in state schools.