Calgary Herald from Calgary, Alberta, Canada • 92

ks8 CALGARY HERALD Saturday, October 11, 2003 Arts' Style Thong-wearing pupils get a dressing-down down not only le string but also on boys who wear "aggressive" clothes, such as Doc Martens boots. "These do not correspond to the spirit of the classroom, where everyone must respect everyone." However, reactions among schoolgirls demonstrated the difficulties facing Darcos. "We can see the maths teacher's thongs under her trousers," one said. "What is the difference if appears above the trousers. Thongs are a fashion accessory.

They are very pretty." Another said: "My little sister, who is 14, is right into thongs. She does everything for them to be seen." However, Darcos's centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire sees the issue as part of a wider debate over the lasting impact of the May 1968 rebellion and its celebrated slogan: "It is forbidden to forbid." Secretary of State for Education Luc Ferry says the youth uprising against authority has damaged French society. His supporters, such as the philosopher Elisabeth Sledziewski, say one of the mistakes that arose from May 1968 was the disappearance of the traditional uniform. "In 1968, they declared war on the smock, just as they declared war on many other symbols that were portrayed as nothing more than an intolerable relic of a military-style education: standing in line, school bells, the classroom roll," Sledziewski said "Freed from discipline and dress code, pupils found new masters from the worlds of showbiz and advertising who recreated a uniform for them: jeans." The upshot, she said, was a wave of "libertarian individualism" and "hedonistic narcissism." III! 1 hi -tfV a ,1 ,1 St -SUV visible. She told them to put on full-length T-shirts.

But a week later, 100 girls demonstrated for the right to dress as they liked. "I'm quite happy for girls to display their navels, but not in a lycee," Wendling-Brickert retorted. She won support from the Socialist Party's former education minister, who said: "In the eyes of the boys, the thongs reduce girls to nothing more than a posterior. Who can be surprised that they're the victims of sexual aggression? These adolescents are unfortunately the reflection of our society: a society where women's bodies are exhibited as a product." Opponents of le string say they are part of a trend towards vulgar clothes among French pupils. It is a trend, they say, that can only be stopped through the introduction of school uniforms.

This view was echoed by Darcos when he was interviewed by the French television channel LCI on Thursday. "The matter has to be looked into," he said. "I don't want to be a prude, but we need to have suitable attire. It is reasonable to ask young girls, when they start to become attractive, to make sure they don't provoke anyone." French pupils are given almost total freedom to chose their clothes, although some head teachers try to insist on "decency." Only a handful of private Catholic schools still have uniforms. The question, however, is what if any uniforms could be imposed on French state schools.

Until the early 1970s, French schoolchildren wore grey, blue or white smocks. Girls wore skirts, and boys, dark trousers. "We have never had uniforms with ties and blazers that identify you with a particular school, as you have in Britain," said Thierry Volck of the Federation of Schoolchildren's Parents. He said French pupils, as well as their par- ADAM SAGE Times of London PARIS The craze among French schoolgirls for wearing thongs has sparked an anguished debate over France's traditionally liberal attitude to sex and prompted calls for the introduction of British-style school uniforms. With girls as young as 10 arriving for lessons with their thongs visible above their pants, teachers, commentators and politicians have been calling for the reintroduction of a more orthodox dress code, closer to that of British schools.

Education Minister Xavier Darcos backed those calls this week, saying he wanted to bring back some form of school uniform. "School is not a nightclub," he said. The controversy comes as the authorities ordered the lingerie manufacturer Sloggi to withdraw an advertising campaign that shows two women wearing nothing but thongs. Sloggi's poster campaign has shocked a country that has long been used to seeing sexually explicit advertising, drawing widespread complaints from women's groups. But it is in schools that "le string" as thongs are called have provoked the loudest arguments.

The fashion among teenagers is to wear low-slung pants and short T-shirts that stop above the midriff so that the thongs are visible. Many teachers say the sight of le string is provocative and distracting to boys. Nor is the sight uncommon, with six out of 10 French women now buying thongs and sales rising by 300 per cent a year. Claudine Wendling-Brickert, the head teacher of Ribeauville Lycee in Metz, eastern France, took action last month against 10 pupils whose thongs were Calgary Herald Archive A thong-wearing craze among French schoolgirls has officials worried. likely to encourage schools to adopt tighter dress codes.

For instance, Darcos praised Canadian and Finnish schools which forced pupils to wear T-shirts of the same colour. He said this would help to clamp ents, would revolt if they were told to buy uniforms. In France, these are associated with English public schools that are seen as producing emotionally deprived young people. The centre-right government is more (3 w-, siirmigudtaro 2 Hi pfX atthe III i i II -v -I 1 I 's Flamesuam Calgary Herald i IHt -aJS i if W2m- I RobhKe3y i St8, a 1 for your chance to win a million dollars! Keep this game card. Collect the missing puzzle pieces in your Calgary Herald.

A new puzzle piece will be published each day, Monday through Friday. Watch Survivor, October 16, to find out who gets "voted then send your completed ballot in to enter our first weekly draw. With a new puzzle each week, there are six chances to enter. Seven Calgary finalists will be eligible to win $50,000 and one lucky contestant wins a trip for two to LaS Vegas and a chance at $1 million dollars! Go to canada.com SEARCH WORD: Panamania for an extra chance to win. Contest runs October 4 November 14 Sim', 1 1 I was "voted off" on Survivor.

October First Name: Address: Tel: Last City: Email: Postal Code: Global CalgaryHerald blast promotions Inc. muiu. blastpromo.com Drop off or mail to: CALGARY HERALD Attn: Survivor Panamania, PO Box 1600, Calgary, AB T2P 4B8. Deadline for Week Two is 9:00 am, Oct. 24.

Contest open to Alberta residents, 21-years of age or older. Odds of winning depend on number of correct entries received. Approximate value of Las Vegas trip is S3000. For no purchase necessary entry see full contest rules at www.canada.comnationalcontestspanamania.