LONDON: French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has called for a ban on Muslim women wearing hijabs while accompanying children on school outings, The Times reported.
French state schools already have a ban on religious head coverings, while the senate approved a bill mandating the removal of headscarves on school outings in 2019, but it did not become law.
“The threat of attack has never been so great as now,” said Retailleau. “It is now primarily endogenous — young individuals radicalized through social media. Last year alone, our services foiled nine attacks, the highest number since 2017.”
Political Islam poses a national threat as it seeks to “overturn our institutions and undermine national cohesion to impose Shariah law in the long term,” he added.
To combat this, the French state must curtail the spread of Islamism in public spaces, sports and education, he said.
“Women accompanying them (students) should not be veiled,” Retailleau added. “The veil is a banner for Islamism, a marker of the subordination of women to men.”
He said his views target a new tolerance for Islamism on the French political left, adding: “Today antisemitism has two faces: Political Islam and also the face of those who use the Palestinian tragedy to court the Muslim vote.”
