France's women's rights minister has sparked fury by comparing Muslim women who choose to wear the headscarf to "negroes who accepted slavery", reports the BBC.
Laurence Rossignol appeared on French TV criticising fashion brands that market hijabs as "irresponsible".
She later said using the word "negro" had been a mistake, but insisted she had only used it in connection with the works of an 18th Century thinker.
Thousands have signed a petition for her to resign.
Ms Rossignol told Buzzfeed the word "negro" was no longer used except to refer to Baron de Montesquieu's writings on slavery.
But she admitted to AFP news agency that she had not foreseen the wider reaction and said the word should not be used "even when it is authorised in reference to slavery".
Some social media users focused on this aspect of her comments. They quoted a government anti-racism message to mock Ms Rossignol, who was a founder of the French anti-racism group SOS Racisme.
Others expressed outrage over Ms Rossignol's portrayal of women wearing the headscarf as "consenting slaves".
The headscarf has long been a vexed issue in France, which defines itself as a secular society.