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This article looks at a pivotal moment in the history of secularism, of the politicization of the debate on schools and islam. The so-called Creil veil affair in 1989 sparked a real controversy in public debate and blurred the usual political boundaries, tearing apart internally all parties on the political spectrum. The conceptions of the various french political families are analysed : those relating to secularism (through the question of the wearing of religious symbols relating to the beliefs of families) and the school (and its role in society), their relationship to islam (then religion of a socially disadvantaged minority resulting from immigration) and the question of integration. The study draws on a critical and distanced analysis of archives from the education sectors of political parties (often unpublished), activist publications and the general press. It ultimately sheds light on the matrix of some of the current debate.