(LifeSiteNews) — Students from traditional Catholic schools in France have been barred from entry into military high schools, prompting legal challenges alleging discrimination.

The father of a high-performing student who attends a school associated with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) suspected something was amiss when his son was denied entry into two military schools despite being accepted at several prestigious schools.

“He had applied to the Prytanée militaire de La Flèche and the military high school in Aix. His application was rejected by both schools,” said the father, who wishes to remain anonymous to safeguard his son. “He wasn’t even on the waitlist, even though he had been accepted into more prestigious schools — the ‘star-rated’ preparatory classes.”

Upon investigation, the father found an explanation in the online “Parcoursup” profile of the National Military Prytanée, France’s most famous military high school. Among the circumstances “leading to the exclusion of certain applicants during the review of applications” is “enrollment in non-contract schools.” In France, this refers to private schools that do not have a contract with the government and therefore are not required to follow the national curriculum.

On July 2, two families of children attending non-contract schools filed an emergency injunction, claiming discrimination due to the children’s educational background. The children attended the Lycée Saint-Bernard in Bailly and the Saint-Joseph des Carmes High School, both SSPX schools.

According to the father of one of the students, it is because of the students’ religious affiliation that they have been discriminated against.

The National Federation of Private Education (FNEP) and the group “Créer son école,” which act on behalf of non-contract private schools, are supporting the parents in their legal action against the military schools. Anne Coffinier, president of “Créer son école” and the FNEP, has decried the “discrimination against students based on their educational background” at issue in the case.

France’s Minister of the Armed Forces has since denounced the National Military Prytanée’s discriminatory policy. On July 2, Catherine Vautrin wrote that the school’s admitted potential exclusion of students with a non-contract educational background “stems from a particularly regrettable individual initiative” and “is in any case completely erroneous.” The minister also noted in her letter that Parcoursup’s administrative offices had been asked to remove this stated policy as soon as possible.

According to France3, the Armed Forces have also announced the launch of an urgent administrative investigation to determine “the circumstances surrounding these individual actions.”

The legal case comes amid reported problems with student behavior at French military high schools, including the Prytanée National Militaire de la Flèche.

On February 3, the Court of Auditors published a report highlighting “a persistent problem of inappropriate behavior on the part of certain students.”

“Some high school students — themselves children of military personnel — seem to seek an education steeped in military culture, which can lead them, on the one hand, to overemphasize these issues, and on the other, to invent often militarized practices that they mistakenly label as ‘traditions,’” the report stated, citing examples such as “sexist, racist, or discriminatory behavior and remarks, as well as participation in particularly violent disturbances directed at staff members.”

Several Prytanée alumni have confirmed the problems. “We were stunned by these practices, which didn’t exist in our day,” one former student said.

Another explained that “students in the upper grades recruit younger students to rally around certain values that resemble eugenics — a desire for superiority.” In at least one recent instance, 12 girls who were expelled “belonged to one of these groups where the criteria were being beautiful and intelligent.”

The father of a student represented in the July legal challenge believes the abuses described in the Court of Auditors’ report are linked to discrimination against applicants from non-contract high schools, according to France3.

On social media, several political figures have stressed that the case shows discrimination against Catholic students in particular and have drawn parallels with the “Fiches” affair (1904-1905), during which France’s Ministry of War had files compiled on the religious and political views of officers in order to hinder the promotion of those deemed strongly Catholic or monarchist.

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