French Military Calendar Sparks Debate Over Inclusion of Veiled Woman

It all started with a post made on Sunday by Damien Rieu, a former member of the Identitarian Generation and now a member of Éric Zemmour’s party, who took a dim view of the presence of a veiled woman on a calendar bearing the logo of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. He denounced a way of "promoting the Islamic veil", reports Le Figaro.

Reacting to this publication, the minister denounced a "fake news" and provided a formal denial. "A photograph of a calendar from the Ministry of the Armed Forces is circulating on social networks. This is a photomontage. Be vigilant, do not spread false information," he tweeted.

On Monday, Sébastien Lecornu’s department acknowledged the obvious. "After thorough verification, the calendar circulating on social networks is an initiative of a team from a department of the ministry. [...] This project was never validated by the hierarchy. [...] Internal product of a service, it has no official value. [...] The idea behind this photo choice was to highlight the civilian local recruitment personnel who make an essential contribution to the missions of our armies in the field," the ministry thus specified.