French Justice Minister Defends Veil as Potential Choice in Secularism Debate

"This text is a text of principle. The veil can sign servitude, it can also sign a choice. For me, it is to get bogged down in debates that have already taken place," he said before the special commission responsible for examining the draft law strengthening respect for the principles of the Republic. He recalled that the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, in the speech of Les Mureaux, had answered certain questions asked by journalists, particularly on the veil, and had been very clear.

"If we all start having to distinguish people on the basis of their religious practice, then we are leaving this text and we are losing ourselves. This text must be consensual, it is a beautiful text that must bring us all together. Political divisions must be erased in favor of a common progress for the values of our Republic," the minister hammered.