The French education minister said nearly 300 students attended the school on Monday wearing the abaya, the long Muslim robe banned from schools last week.

Most of the girls agreed to change clothes while 67 students who refused to comply walked out of the school. According to the French Ministry of Education, there will be a period of dialogue with their families and if this fails, they will be excluded from school.

According to official figures, 298 girls, mostly aged 15 and over, showed up to school wearing the banned clothing.

According to the instructions of the ministry, a dialogue with the school staff followed in each case. Most of the girls then agreed to dress differently and were able to start classes.

At the end of August, the Minister of Education announced that students would be banned from wearing the loose-fitting robes worn by some Muslim girls in French state schools at the start of the new school year on September 4.

France strictly bans religious symbols in state schools and government buildings, arguing they violate secular laws. The use of headscarves has been banned since 2004 in state schools.

The move comes after months of debate over the use of the abaya in French schools. The garment is increasingly worn in schools with right-wing parties pushing for a ban, while the left has raised concerns about the rights of Muslim women and girls.

In 2010, France banned the Muslim headscarf, which covers the face, sparking outrage among France’s five million-strong Muslim community.

France has imposed a strict ban on religious symbols in schools since the 19th centuryincluding Christian symbols such as large crosses, in an attempt to limit any Catholic influence in public education.

Reflecting its changing population, it has updated the law over the years to include the Muslim headscarf and the Jewish kippah, but abayas have not been completely banned until now.