France: The government rejects Retailleau’s proposals on the ban of the hijab

The French government rejected on Wednesday the controversial proposals from Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau regarding the prohibition of wearing the hijab for school escorts and university students.

During the Cabinet meeting report, spokesperson Sophie Primas clarified that this was a personal initiative from Retailleau, with no support within the parliamentary majority.

In an interview with Le Parisien on Monday, Retailleau called the hijab a “marker of the subjugation of women” and a “banner of Islamism,” urging legislation to prohibit its wearing in these two contexts.

Retailleau’s declaration sparked immediate reactions from the left and among secularism defenders. Deputy Antoine Léaument (LFI) accused the minister of wanting to replicate in France what is criticized about the Taliban in Afghanistan, denouncing the measure as “freedom-restricting.”

Benjamin Lucas, an ecological deputy, also wrote to the Prime Minister requesting clarification, arguing that these proposals instrumentalize secularism for political ends.

Former general rapporteur of the Observatory of Secularism, Nicolas Cadène, also responded by reminding that school escorts and students are not subject to the 2004 law on religious symbols in public schools. According to him, extending this law would be “a bad blow to secularism,” risking to fuel community tensions.