Muslim Woman Alleges Discrimination After Bank Demands Veil Removal

In the entrance airlock of Société Générale, Leila, a mother, is forced to remove her veil. Thus, "as long as I don’t take off my veil, she refused to let me in..." reports the mother, who, at the insistence of the employee, finally removed her hijab.

She did not understand what was happening to her, she who, to the memory of a resident of Hénin-Beaumont, stronghold of the Rassemblement national (RN), had never had to remove her hijab to enter any establishment, finds herself "for the first time" forced to do so at Société Générale which focuses on security. "I felt humiliated and not at all respected as a French citizen!" reports Streetpress, to whom Leila confided her desolation.

It was an "unfortunate misunderstanding" placed the branch manager, indicating that the national headquarters of Société Générale insists on respecting "security instructions that require any person [...] to appear uncovered in order to be identified," as decided by the French Banking Association.

In vain, Leila maintains that it was an humiliation, and files a complaint against X for "discrimination on the grounds of religion, refusal of a good or service in a place open to the public or for prohibiting access to it".