On Tuesday, the French Senate voted in favour of banning headscarves from sports competitions, arguing that it violates the condition of neutrality required on the field. The amendment proposed by the Right-wing group Les Republicains, and opposed by the French government, was passed by the French Senate with 160 votes in favour and 143 against.
The legislators, who voted in favour of it, cited that wearing prominent religious symbols is prohibited from participating in events and competitions organised by sports federations. In their text, the senators said that the amendment aims to ban the wearing of the veil during sporting contests. They added that headscarves could jeopardise the safety of the athletes carrying them while practising their profession.
Moreover, the senators reiterated the citizens’ right to exercise their religion but insisted that they should refrain from putting forward their differences on the outside. The amendment read, “Today, there is legal uncertainty about the wearing of religious symbols, and it is necessary for the state to clearly define the rules. If the wearing of the veil is not explicitly forbidden, we could see the emergence of community sports clubs promoting certain religious signs.”
The vote comes a year after the French lawmakers in the lower house approved a bill to strengthen the oversight of mosques, schools and sports clubs to safeguard France from radical Islamism and promote the values of the French Republic. Earlier, the government had outlawed religious symbols in schools and banned full-face veils in public.
A commission comprising of members from the Senate and the lower house are expected to discuss the matter further and reach a compromise on the text before it is published. Therefore, the amendment can still be cancelled. Also, it remains unclear if the ban would be implemented for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The French Football Federation (FFF) has already banned women from wearing headscarves during official games.
Far-right French politician Le Pen calls for nationwide headscarf ban.
— The International Herald (@TheIntlHerald) October 31, 2020
Le Pen underlined that there has been a rapid increase in the number of women wearing headscarves in France since 1989, adding the veil has accompanied the rise of Islam as a religion in the country. pic.twitter.com/6ecsKob1ah
Meanwhile, critics see this as a ploy to lure the Right-wing to French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party ahead of the presidential elections to be held in April. However, Macron has not officially declared his candidacy for the presidential elections so far.