The French Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez, has voiced his opposition to a proposed law that would prohibit underage girls from wearing the Islamic headscarf, or hijab. Nunez stated on Sunday that such a measure could be perceived as a form of stigmatization.
The debate surrounding stricter legal restrictions on wearing the hijab in public spaces is intensifying in France, particularly amidst the rising influence of right-wing factions. France is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in Europe.
Last week, Laurent Wauquiez, head of the parliamentary group of the right-wing Republicans party, introduced a bill in the National Assembly (parliament) seeking to ban minors from wearing the hijab in public. A report issued by the same group in the Senate went even further, proposing a ban on fasting during Ramadan for individuals under the age of 16.
Nunez, the former Paris police chief who was appointed Interior Minister last October, succeeding the more hardline Bruno Retailleau, told BFM TV that the proposal “deeply stigmatizes our Muslim citizens who may feel hurt… I do not support it in this form.”
The Minister argued that authorities should be “extremely cautious” and instead focus on targeting Islamists with extremist interpretations of religion who seek to impose “Sharia law instead of the laws of the Republic.”
This issue is creating tension even within President Emmanuel Macron’s government, which is aware that the far-right is a strong contender in the 2027 presidential elections. Equality Minister Aurore Bergé, in a statement to CNews, expressed her support for the hijab ban for minors, claiming it was necessary “to protect children.”
“I have no doubt that there is now a majority in the National Assembly and the Senate to vote in favor of it,” Bergé said. In May, Macron’s Renaissance party, led by former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, proposed banning “the wearing of the hijab in public places by minors under a certain age.”
