Top French court upholds hijab ban in women's football
France's top administrative court on Thursday upheld a ban on women football players wearing Islamic hijab headscarves, after the issue was seized on by politicians claiming secularism was at risk.
Although the Constitutional Council found that women players were users of public services and therefore not bound by a duty of "neutrality", the judges also said the French Football Federation (FFF) can issue whatever rules it believes necessary for matches to "run smoothly".
Despite politicians on the right claiming that the women's footballer group known as Les Hijabeuses (the hijab-wearers) is a threat to state secularism, in fact several other sports federations have allowed female players to wear the headscarf for years with no issues.
READ ALSO Does France really have a hijab ban?
The group of Muslim women footballers called the "Hijabeuses" launched the action against the French Football Federation (FFF), whose rules currently ban the headscarves in competition along with "any sign or clothing clearly
showing political, philosophical, religious or union affiliation".
The collective received a boost on Monday when the state's legal adviser concluded the rule was unjustified, during a hearing at France's Constitutional Council, where the case is being heard.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, a law-and-order hardliner, said on Tuesday: "I hope profoundly for the republic that (judges) uphold neutrality on sports fields.
"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.
Other voices from the political right have also chimed in.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen wrote on Twitter: "No to the hijab in sport. And we will pass a law to make sure it is respected."
Les Républicains chief Eric Ciotti said his party -- which holds just 62 seats in France's 577-seat parliament -- would introduce a bill on the topic if the court allowed the hijab.
Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera has also suggested Macron's government could legislate, saying "we aren't ruling anything out" and "we can see that there's a need for clarification".
The Constitutional Council itself shot back Wednesday at what it said were "attacks aimed at the administrative branch and especially the legal adviser".
Questioning the workings of the courts was "an attack on an institution that is essential for democracy," the body added, saying it could take legal action in cases of "insult, defamation, incitement to hatred or threats".
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Although the Constitutional Council found that women players were users of public services and therefore not bound by a duty of "neutrality", the judges also said the French Football Federation (FFF) can issue whatever rules it believes necessary for matches to "run smoothly".
Despite politicians on the right claiming that the women's footballer group known as Les Hijabeuses (the hijab-wearers) is a threat to state secularism, in fact several other sports federations have allowed female players to wear the headscarf for years with no issues.
READ ALSO Does France really have a hijab ban?
The group of Muslim women footballers called the "Hijabeuses" launched the action against the French Football Federation (FFF), whose rules currently ban the headscarves in competition along with "any sign or clothing clearly
showing political, philosophical, religious or union affiliation".
The collective received a boost on Monday when the state's legal adviser concluded the rule was unjustified, during a hearing at France's Constitutional Council, where the case is being heard.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, a law-and-order hardliner, said on Tuesday: "I hope profoundly for the republic that (judges) uphold neutrality on sports fields.
"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.
Other voices from the political right have also chimed in.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen wrote on Twitter: "No to the hijab in sport. And we will pass a law to make sure it is respected."
Les Républicains chief Eric Ciotti said his party -- which holds just 62 seats in France's 577-seat parliament -- would introduce a bill on the topic if the court allowed the hijab.
Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera has also suggested Macron's government could legislate, saying "we aren't ruling anything out" and "we can see that there's a need for clarification".
The Constitutional Council itself shot back Wednesday at what it said were "attacks aimed at the administrative branch and especially the legal adviser".
Questioning the workings of the courts was "an attack on an institution that is essential for democracy," the body added, saying it could take legal action in cases of "insult, defamation, incitement to hatred or threats".
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