Far-right frontrunner in France’s presidential race Marine Le Pen has faced a wave of criticism after reaffirming her proposal to ban women from wearing the hijab in public spaces, with doubts about the initiative also emerging within her own party.
A source close to Marine Le Pen, who requested anonymity, told POLITICO that the politician plans to include the ban in a law targeting «radical Islamism». The law could then be put to a referendum to shift the debate from religion to «Islamist ideology», the source said.
Le Pen’s proposal became a major topic in France’s political agenda after a lawmaker from her National Rally party said on Sunday that, if she comes to power, wearing the hijab in public could become an offense punishable by a fine.
Marine Le Pen currently leads in the polls with a narrow margin ahead of the first round of France’s presidential election in spring 2027.
Criticism from political opponents
Left-wing political leaders and civil liberties activists have condemned Marine Le Pen’s proposal, calling it Islamophobic and discriminatory.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is among the leading left-wing candidates in the presidential race according to recent polls, accused Le Pen of seeking to create a «fashion police in the Iranian style» in a post on X.
French anti-racism organization SOS Racisme stated that Le Pen aims to «exclude Muslim women from public spaces». Center-right candidate Édouard Philippe noted that the state should focus on combating «Islamism and extremists, not French Muslims». Conservative candidate Bruno Retailleau said such a policy would be an inefficient use of police resources.
Debates over the hijab regularly arise in France. According to a report by France’s national statistics agency in 2023, 26% of French Muslim women aged 18 to 49 wear the hijab.
France is one of the few European countries with a total ban on full-face veils in public spaces. It also became the only country to ban its athletes from wearing the hijab during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Religious head coverings, including hijabs and kippahs, have been banned in French schools since 2004.
Dispute within Le Pen’s party
Meanwhile, Le Pen’s proposal remains politically risky even for her own party. Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, had previously discussed the possibility of abandoning the initiative over concerns it could become a political liability.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Bardella again sought to downplay the proposal. He emphasized that the final decision would be made by French voters in the proposed referendum and stated that it was «not about introducing a dress code».
However, with Marine Le Pen now the central figure in the presidential campaign and Jordan Bardella playing a secondary role, the revival of one of her most controversial proposals in public debate has served as a reminder of who holds the key decision-making power in the party.
Contributed to this report: Sara Paillet.
Source: POLITICO
