French parents boycott schools over 'gender theory' scare

France 24

French Education Minister Vincent Peillon (L) and French Minister for Women's Rights and Government Spokesperson Najat Vallaud-Belkacem (R) speak with pupils about egality between boys and girls during a visit to a primary school on the theme "The ABCD of equality" on January 13, 2014, in Villeurbanne near Lyon, central-eastern France. AFP Photo

Thousands of parents in France received a text message on their mobile telephones last week urging them to keep their children from school on Monday. The collective action was to protest against an alleged new development in French primary schools: the attempt to teach students that “they are not born as boys or girls, but can choose to become one or the other.”

The grassroots campaign opposing the teaching of “gender theory” in French schools asked parents to go further by taking their kids out of school one day every month. It recommended this be done with no prior warning to teachers.

The message also alerted parents that sexual education will invade kindergarten classes “with practical examples” when the new school year starts in September.