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French Government Questions RN Proposal to Fine Islamic Veil Wearers
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

French Government Questions RN Proposal to Fine Islamic Veil Wearers

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • The French government questioned whether the National Rally’s proposal to fine Islamic veil wearers in public would comply with the constitution and could be enforced.
  • Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said any restriction would have to apply to all visible religious symbols, not only the veil.
  • The proposal, backed by RN lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy, could face challenges involving religious freedom, equality and the limits of France’s referendum procedure.

The French government has challenged the legal foundations of a National Rally proposal to fine women who wear Islamic veils in public if Marine Le Pen wins the 2027 presidential election.

There are obvious reservations both about the constitutionality and the enforceability of a measure of this kind.

— Maud BregeonThe French government spokeswoman questioned the RN proposal at a news conference after a cabinet meeting.

Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said the executive had “obvious reservations” about both the constitutionality and the enforceability of such a measure. She also questioned the scope of a possible ban, saying it could not single out the Islamic veil while leaving other visible religious symbols untouched.

The controversy returned to the forefront after RN lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy confirmed that the party planned to penalize veil use if it took power. He said the party would fight what it called Islamist ideology and described the measure as an act of solidarity with women forced to wear the veil in other countries.

If the issue were to be raised again, it would have to be raised for all visible religious symbols in public spaces, not only for the veil.

— Maud BregeonBregeon challenged the proposal’s focus on the Islamic veil.

Tanguy said the issue had been settled within the party despite earlier internal debate. He claimed the initiative had the support of between 60% and 70% of French people, and compared the proposed fine with penalties for not wearing a seat belt. The RN has included a public-veil ban in Le Pen’s programs during her previous three presidential campaigns.

We will obviously fight Islamist ideology and penalize the wearing of the veil.

— Jean-Philippe TanguyThe RN lawmaker confirmed the party’s proposal in a television interview.

The party also put forward a similar bill in 2021 as part of a plan to combat Islamist ideologies, but the proposal did not advance. Constitutional experts have questioned whether a new measure could comply with religious freedom and equality protections. Le Pen has suggested a referendum as a way to advance the ban, although doubts remain over whether Article 11 of the constitution allows a referendum on an issue of this kind.

It has been decided.

— Jean-Philippe TanguyTanguy said the party had settled the issue after internal debate.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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