<B>French</B> President Jacques Chirac is expected to back a ban on Muslim headscarves, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses in state schools after years of controversy over religion in public life and office. He is expected to announce his decisions in a speech at his Elysee Palace on Wednesday afternoon, one week after the commission on church-state relations recommended standing firm against militant Islamists trying to undermine official secularism.

Chirac is trying to revive his popularity after an angry national debate over integrating Muslims into France?s traditionally Catholic society, and wants to prevent a new surge by the far-right National Front in regional elections in March. But he is less likely to accept a tendentious proposal by a government commission to create new school holidays to mark the holy days of minority religions.?It will be a chance for him to talk about France, France?s values and the foundations of the Republic,? said a source close to the president.

Chirac faces opposition to the ban on religious symbols in France?s mostly state-run schools from Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders. But an opinion poll published in the newspaper Le Parisien yesterday showed 69 percent of people supported the ban and 58 percent opposed creating new school holidays. Race relations are very much in the spotlight with young Muslims of North African origin being blamed for a rise in anti-Semitic violence in poor suburbs. Banning the headscarf is a particularly important and sensitive issue because of concern that Muslim integration has failed and that Islamist influence is growing.

Schools decide on an individual basis how to deal with pupils whose headscarves, skullcaps or crosses contravene secular principles. Decisions to suspend or expel pupils for wearing the Muslim headscarf have sparked angry debates for some time. The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) has appealed to Chirac not to proceed with a law it said would victimise the country?s five million Muslims.

Chirac?s poll ratings shot to record highs because of his opposition to the US-led Iraq war. In recent weeks, they have fallen amid criticism of his economic reform course and failure to curb unemployment of about 10 percent and rising.

A survey by pollster Louis Harris this week put his support at 45 percent, down two points from last month. Raffarin, who is in charge of the day-to-day running of the government, saw his score fall to 33 percent, the lowest since his appointment. March?s regional elections are seen as a key mid-term test of Chirac?s second presidential term and of his government.

Emmanuel Jarry