Sport is latest battleground in the crusade against French women wearing the headscarf
In February the French Parliament's upper chamber, the Senate, backed a bill that would ban the wearing of the headscarf in sports competitions. It is a sign of sport has become the latest excuse being used by those in authority to justify a legislative offensive against French women who wear the hijab. Indeed, France's interior minister Bruno Retailleau has made it his battle of choice, and at a public meeting recently he declared “down with the headscarf”. It is an issue that is normally the favoured territory of the far-right. But as Samia Dechir and Marie Turcan argue in this op-ed article, all the latter need do now is grab the popcorn and watch as the government itself goes on the attack.
“Long“Long live sport and so down with the headscarf, of course.” That was how Bruno Retailleau, France's interior minister who has responsibility for religious affairs, addressed the 4,000 people who had gathered at the 'Pour la République' ('For the Republic') rally in Paris on March 26th. The crowd burst into applause. The event was organised by #AgirEnsemble, a pro-Israel lobby that claims to fight “against Islamists who threaten France”, along with a network of think tanks funded by Pierre-Édouard Stérin, the billionaire patron of the far-right.
