Rfi:

The French government is fighting to break a school boycott by parents convinced that their children are being taught masturbation and a non-existent “gender theory” as part of an effort to promote equality between the sexes.

Education Minister Vincent Peillon on Wednesday told head teachers to summon parents who have withdrawn their children from school to explain that rumours about the government’s ABCD of Equality programme are untrue and remind them that school attendance is a legal requirement.

“A certain number of extremists have decided to lie, to frighten parents,” Peillon told journalists. “What we are doing in schools is teach the values of the republic and, therefore, respect between men and women.”

More:  http://www.english.rfi.fr/americas/20140129-french-school-boycott-over-gender-theory-scare