The Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris has modified the sanction against a nurse who wore a surgical cap in all circumstances, suspending her for eight months following a summary judgment. The court had deemed her initial dismissal disproportionate, ordering her reinstatement. According to her lawyer, she never claimed any religious motivation.
Madjouline B., a nurse at Paris's Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital since 2018, was dismissed on November 10, 2025, for wearing a surgical cap daily, an item typically reserved for the operating room or intensive care. The Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) management accused her of repeated use and refusal to remove it in all situations.
In a summary procedure, the nurse secured a ruling from the Paris administrative court in early January suspending her dismissal. The referring judge acknowledged a fault warranting disciplinary action but deemed the revocation disproportionate to the offense. He ordered her reinstatement to duties within one month. The AP-HP had then stated it would adjust its decision to ensure proportionality.
Despite this, Madjouline B. was not reinstated and received a letter early in the week notifying her of an eight-month suspension for repeated headwear and refusal to remove it. This measure was revealed by Mediapart and confirmed by an AP-HP spokesperson to AFP: "The summary judgment recognized the fault but deemed the sanction disproportionate; it has been modified."
Blandine Chauvel, a staff representative from Sud Santé, criticized the sanction. The nurse's lawyer, Me Lionel Crusoé, lamented: "The referring judge had ordered my client's reinstatement; the AP-HP never did it and issued a new exclusion." According to him, Madjouline B. never claimed religious affiliation, viewing the cap as part of "her private life."
