Because of the absence of unambiguous law, action was taken on a case-by-case basis against students wearing ostensible religious garb, with differences of practice between establishments. School administrators, in such cases, were taken into legal, social and media quarrels far beyond their ordinary responsibilities. This was highlighted by the 1989 "Affaire du Foulard" ("the headscarf affair"), when three young girls were expelled from their school in Creil, near Paris, for refusing to take off their headscarves. This caused such an uproar that administrators realized something had to be done soon to regain control.