Headscarves in football ignite new French secularism debate

After spending past summers debating burkinis, France looks set for a new bout of arguing over Islamic clothing, this time over whether female football players should be allowed to wear headscarves during matches.

At the centre of the latest soul-searching is a legal challenge by a collective of Muslim football players who seek to overturn a ban by the French Football Federation on women wearing religious symbols during games, even those organized by amateur clubs.

The "Hijabeuses" collective received a legal boost on Monday when the state's legal advisor concluded the rule was unjustified during a hearing at the country's Constitutional Council, where the case is being heard. 

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, an immigration hardliner in Emmanuel Macron's government, said Tuesday that he was "very opposed" to the council authorizing headscarves on football pitches, echoing alarm expressed by other right-wing politicians.

"The Constitutional Council is an extremely wise institution. I hope profoundly for the republic that they uphold neutrality on sports fields," Darmanin told RTL radio.

A final decision from the nine-member body, which rules on constitutional matters, is expected in the middle of July.

The "Hijabeuses" were hoping to give the republic a "battering," Darmanin said.

"You shouldn't wear religious clothing when you play sports... when you play football, you don't need to know the religion of the person in front of you," he said.

Article 1 of the football federation's rules, introduced in 2016, states that players are not allowed to wear "symbols or clothing obviously displaying one's political, philosophical, religious or trade union views."

'Islamisation'

The issue goes to the heart of the notion of French secularism, which is intended to keep the state neutral in religious matters, while also guaranteeing citizens the right to freely practice their religion.

Authorizing the hijab in football "would be a real regression for the rights of women and a shameful submission to Islamism," the head of the right-wing Republicans party, Eric Ciotti, said Tuesday.

"No to the hijab in sport. And we will pass a law to make sure it is respected," wrote Far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Twitter.

Right-wing politicians often interpret France's law on secularism, known as "laicite," as a ban on religious symbols in public spaces.

Last year, the country was engrossed in a legal battle sparked by the efforts of the city of Grenoble to authorize the "burkini," a full-covering bathing suit worn by some Muslim women, in municipal swimming pools.

The Constitutional Council eventually ruled in favor of upholding a ban on the burkini.

Attempts by right-wing mayors in the south of France to ban the burkini on Mediterranean beaches in the summer of 2016 kicked off the first firestorm around the modest swim suit. 

The rules, introduced after a string of terror attacks in France, were eventually struck down as discriminatory.

Neutrality?

The "Hijabeuses" and their supporters claim that the football federation's rules prevent some Muslim women from taking part in the sport. 

France's laws contain specific provisions that prohibit the wearing of "ostentatious" religious symbols in some contexts, such as public schools and by public servants.

Full-face coverings were outlawed in 2010.

The state's legal advisor in the Constitutional Council pointed out that football was "riddled with" religious symbols, including players who made the sign of the cross as they entered the pitch.

Players were not subject to a "neutrality requirement," Clement Malverti, the public rapporteur at the council, said.

The advice of the rapporteur is usually, but not always, followed by the council. 

"Our combat is not political, not religious. It is about sport and only sport," Foune Diawara, head of the "Hijabeuses," told reporters afterwards. "There are women who are excluded from football pitches every weekend because they wear the veil."

Global football body FIFA authorized players to wear the headscarf during international matches in 2014.

© Agence France-Presse