French Court Upholds Muslim Woman’s Right to Wear Headscarf at Work

Welcoming this verdict, the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), through a press release signed by its liquidator, Jean-Jacques Megaïdes, indicated that the court has thus put the clocks back in place by recalling that the particular wishes of the clientele cannot prevail over the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion of an employee.

The case dates back to 2015, when the ready-to-wear brand Camaïeu, claiming to want to "allow more and more women to be seductive by expressing their femininity". This choice of Nadia will be fatal to her. She is fired. "As if I had the plague, I absolutely could not be in contact with the customers," Nadia testified to the CCIF in 2019 on appeal where the Camaïeu company was ordered to pay her 10,000 euros in damages. The Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal and confirmed the judgment which considers that the dismissal was null and that the means implemented by the Camaïeu company were disproportionate and humiliating towards the plaintiff, to whom she had even been asked to return her access keys. The Court of Cassation thus confirms the Court of Appeal’s ruling, also ordering the company to pay 30,000 euros under Article 700 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The press release notes that even dissolved, the CCIF has managed to curb Islamophobic injustices and clarify the law where it is manipulated for discriminatory purposes. The present decision for him is a testimony, indicates the liquidator of the crucible.

"This decision of the Court of Cassation, like other decisions that go in this direction, will set a precedent and constitutes progress in the defense of freedoms in private companies," concluded the press release.