The controversy over the veil has been going on for almost 40 years in France, where secularism is anchored in the national genetic code, in its republican essence. Less than eight months before the presidential elections, the extreme right has reopened the debate by reiterating its old intention of prohibiting women, in public spaces, from this garment that expresses their Islamic faith.
Arguing about the veil exacerbates the political struggle and further polarizes the race towards the Elysée between the National Regroupment (RN, former National Front) and La Francia Insumisa (LFI, radical left). The former's candidate, Marine Le Pen, is clearly leading the polls for the first round. And LFI founder and leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon is second.
The referendum proposal was already on the RN program, but no one had paid much attention to it until one of the most aggressive deputies, Philippe Tanguy, was forced to speak out on a television program last Sunday. The nets immediately caught fire. Tanguy added, of his own making, that if they come to power, women who wear the veil would be fined, in the same way that those who do not fasten their seat belts in vehicles are punished. These comments further provoked those who want to respect the veil option.
Mélenchon was quick to react, calling the idea of the RN “ignoble” and further proof of its “sexist and Islamophobic obsessions.” According to the insumiso candidate, the extreme right intends to create a “clothing police.”
The issue of the veil has also brought into focus the differences in sensitivity, the nuances, between Le Pen and her dolphin, MEP Jordan Bardella, who holds the presidency of the party and, in principle, is destined to be prime minister if his mentor reaches the Elysée. While Le Pen reaffirmed what Tanguy said, Bardella tried to moderate the message. “There will not be a ban per se the day after our election,” he was quick to point out, hinting that the measure could only be applied in buildings and not on the street. Between Bardella and Le Pen there are different points of view on other important issues such as economic policy - the former presents himself to businessmen as more liberal, while she wants to pamper her voters from the popular classes - and pension reform. Perhaps it is a mere strategy to capture votes among a wide range of voters.
Le Pen's original plan on the veil dates back to 2021, before the last presidential elections. The ban would be framed in a law against Islamist ideologies, considering that the scarf is not a simple harmless religious sign, but rather a militant gesture, while showing the submission of women, so it would have no place in the public space of a secular State.
Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon - who supports the center-right candidate Édouard Philippe, mayor of Le Havre - stressed that "there are evident reservations both about the constitutionality and applicability of such a measure." Le Pen's party counterattacked with the argument that, if approved in a referendum, it cannot be declared unconstitutional. In any case, there will probably be legal debate prior to the popular consultation.
For the RN, locating the electoral debate on the terrain of identity, the preservation of the French essence, migration, and citizen insecurity, is more comfortable and profitable than talking about other issues. This allows the far-right party to continue playing with ambiguity about its economic program, which is still very vague. It is not easy to clarify what they are going to do to stop the debt or to balance the numbers in the pension system. In the end they will have to get involved in thorny issues.
LFI may also benefit from a controversy over Muslim clothing. It helps them consolidate themselves as the party closest to communities of immigrant origin and Muslim religion, to the point of being accused by their adversaries of being too complacent with the Islamists or even complicit. In recent years, Mélenchon's party has achieved spectacular results in municipalities on the Parisian outskirts with a strong Muslim component, such as Saint-Denis ou La Courneuve, or in cities such as Roubaix, next to the Belgian border, where it also governs.
One of the dangers of a victory for the extreme right in the presidential and legislative elections that will follow is that, if they take measures such as the veil, the persecution of irregular immigrants or others, they will encounter strong resistance in the street and an atmosphere that in France can quickly degenerate into violence.
