Europe01 September, 20262 min read
Marine Le Pen Sparks Backlash With France Hijab Ban Proposal, Opponents Call It Discriminatory
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Le Pen's RN proposes banning hijab in public and fining violators if elected in 2027. Opposition within her party doubts the policy; critics call it demagogic and impractical.
5 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Azerbaijan Bars Hijab in Schools, Sparking Protests in Baku and Arrests →
Le Pen’s Hijab Proposal
Far-right presidential front-runner Marine Le Pen has sparked backlash in France after doubling down on a proposal to ban women from wearing the hijab in public, with opponents calling it discriminatory and Islamophobic. POLITICO reported that a person close to Le Pen said she planned to propose the ban by including it in a law on combating “radical Islamism,” then putting it to a referendum.
The proposal has also drawn governmental reservations, with a spokeswoman saying that imposing a comprehensive ban faces constitutional and practical obstacles after a Cabinet meeting at the Élysée Palace. In France’s political debate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon condemned the plan, describing the attempt to fine veiled women as a “shameful” approach and arguing that secularism should not be a means of discrimination or exclusion.
Backlash and Counter-Campaigns
Opponents and civil liberties advocates have lambasted Le Pen’s proposal as Islamophobic and discriminatory, while SOS Racisme said Le Pen was looking to “chase Muslim women out of public areas.” POLITICO also quoted Jean-Luc Mélenchon accusing Le Pen of wanting to set up an “Iranian-style clothing police” in a post on X.
In parallel, a digital campaign spread under the hashtag #FoulardPourTous, with activists and women posting photos and videos of themselves wearing the hijab in solidarity with Muslim women in France. Al-Jazirah Net described the movement as a response to an interview with National Rally lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy on BFMTV, where he revealed the party’s legal intentions if Le Pen reached the presidency.
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Fines, Enforcement, and Stakes
National Rally figures have framed the policy as sanctions for veiling in public space, with RN deputy Jean-Philippe Tanguy telling BFMTV that the party intended to “sanction the wearing of the veil” in public space if it came to power. Beur FM reported that Valérie Pécresse denounced the measure as “demagogic and impractical,” reacting on franceinfo that it does not align with her conception of things.
The POLITICO report said the hijab debate is dominating the French political news cycle after a lawmaker from Le Pen’s National Rally said Sunday that wearing the hijab in public would become a fineable offense if she took office. Al-Jazirah Net added that participants announced intentions to wear the hijab daily in the streets to trigger wide civil disobedience that would make law enforcement impossible to enforce in practice.