French Parliament to Discuss a Draft Prohibiting the Wearing of Hijab for Minors in Public Spaces

In a development likely to exacerbate tensions in French society, the Legal Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly (the lower house of parliament) began debating a draft on Wednesday that would “ban the wearing of Hijabs by minors in public places.”

This draft, introduced by MPs of the right-wing Republicans LR party, headed by former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, is scheduled for debate and approval in a plenary session next week (January 22). It already sparked strong reactions in the French National Assembly.

According to Laurent Wauquiez, head of the parliamentary group of Retailleau’s party in the lower house of parliament, who introduced the draft, this draft aims to prevent “any parent from forcing or allowing their minor daughter to wear clothing designed to conceal her hair in public places,” in what is seen as a blatant interference in the relationship between Muslim families and their daughters.

The draft states, “Forcing young girls to wear the hijab, especially if it is the result of coercion or pressure, violates our fundamental principles.” According to the French parliamentary channel’s website, the proposed legislation stems from a report prepared by a team of senior civil servants and published by the Interior Ministry last May. The report concluded that there has been “a significant and clear increase in the number of young girls wearing the hijab.”

While the La France Insoumise party opposed the draft in the legal affairs committee, deeming it contrary to the laws of the French Republic and the diversity that characterises French society, former Interior Minister and leader of the Republicans party, Bruno Retailleau, championed the proposed legislation, which imposes fines of up to €35 on violators.

In a talk show broadcast on Wednesday morning simultaneously on the far-right radio station Europe 1 and the television channel CNews, Retailleau expressed his support for the draft. He stated, “When I was Minister of the Interior, I declared: ‘Long live sports, down with the hijab,'” a statement that sparked widespread outrage across political and social spectrums in France.

The leader of the right-wing party rejected the notion that the hijab is a matter of personal freedom, as many French people believe, arguing instead that it is more of an Islamic symbol than a religious garment, aimed at isolationism or segregation. He stated that “all Islamists, without exception, work to impose the hijab on their wives and daughters.” He also attacked both Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s party and a faction within the Renaissance movement (the party founded by Macron) for opposing this draft.

The proponents of this draft offer justifications that remain rejected by a large segment of the French population, such as “defending certain fundamental principles,” “protecting children,” “freedom of conscience,” and “equality between men and women.” They also argue that allowing the hijab would contribute to “instilling concepts in the minds of young people that are far removed from French civility, such as the inferiority of women or their responsibility for the attraction that the sight of their hair might evoke in men,” as they claim.

According to the French parliamentary channel’s website, this project has been met with criticism from numerous constitutional law experts and public law professors, who have expressed doubts about its constitutionality. The current Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, has opposed the project, deeming it “a great disgrace to our Muslim citizens who may feel offended,” and has also expressed his refusal to include the Muslim Brotherhood on the list of terrorist entities, according to the same source.