The Douai administrative court of appeal annulled on Wednesday July 8 for a procedural defect the judgment reinstating the association contract between the State and the Averroès high school, the main Muslim educational establishment in France, accused by the prefecture of promoting “political Islam”.
The court ruled that the request submitted by the high school in first instance before the administrative court of Lille was not admissible, as it had not been preceded by an administrative appeal to the prefect, obligatory, according to the decision, before any referral to the judge in this type of dispute.
Seized on appeal by the Minister of National Education, it consequently annulled the judgment rendered on April 23, 2025, considering that it ruled on an “inadmissible” request, without ruling on the merits of the case.
In its judgment of April 2025, the Lille administrative court reinstated the association contract, finding that the administration had not established “the existence of serious breaches of the law” and that the procedure was “marred by irregularities”.
Referral to the prefect
The Northern prefecture terminated the association contract between the State and the Averroès high school in December 2023, citing “serious breaches of the fundamental principles of the Republic”. This decision put an end to the subsidies through which the State helps finance teachers’ salaries, which were then reinstated in 2025.
The lawyer for the Averroès association, Sefen Guez Guez, indicated that the establishment will “seize the prefect today and file a new summary suspension before the administrative court of Lille to maintain the current situation” within the establishment. The judgment of the court of appeal “is a purely formal decision”, he lamented.
“We hope to start the next school year under contract, everything is already organized like this, the teachers have been appointed, the students are registered…”, reacted the director of the school group, Eric Dufour.
Founded in 2003, Averroès high school has distinguished itself by excellent academic results. With around 800 students, the school group, which also includes a non-contract middle school, is the main Muslim educational establishment in France.
