French Government Pushes Ahead with Sports Hijab Ban Despite Opposition

The Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, reiterated on Tuesday the commitment of her government to ensure respect for secularism in sport, announcing the signing by the Minister of Sports in the coming weeks "of partnerships with the federations to strengthen the training of referents (on the) fight against separatism and attacks on secularism". The head of government assured that the checks will be "reinforced" at school from the start of the school year and that the State will not hesitate "to close clubs that promote a radical or separatist ideology".

On Monday, the Hijabeuses collective challenged the article 1 of the regulations of the French Football Federation (FFF) prohibiting "any wearing of a sign or outfit ostentatiously manifesting a political, philosophical, religious or trade union affiliation" before the administrative courts. The public rapporteur supported the collective, calling for the annulment of this article and the modification of the FFF regulations. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, does not share this opinion. "We don’t have to wear religious clothes when we play sports," he says bluntly on RTL.

The right wing also calls for legislation on the issue. "The hijab in sport, it’s no! And we will make a law to enforce that," tweeted Marine Le Pen, the president of the National Rally (RN) deputies in the National Assembly. "It takes the naivety of a rapporteur to the Council of State to write that there is ’no proselytism, that there is no provocation’ in wearing the veil to play football," criticized Olivier Marleix, the boss of the Les Républicains (LR) deputies, on franceinfo.

"Allowing the wearing of the hijab in sport would be a real setback for women’s rights and a shameful submission to Islamism," Éric Ciotti, the president of LR, also said, announcing the tabling of a bill if the Council of State went in the direction of the public rapporteur. Founé Diawara, the president of the Hijabeuses, for her part denounced the fact that women continue to be "excluded from the pitches because they wear a veil", while FIFA has allowed the wearing of the veil in international competition since 2014.