Why is France planning to ban headscarves for girls under 15 in public?

French President Emmanuel Macron’s political movement, Renaissance, has proposed a controversial new measure: banning girls under 15 from wearing the Muslim headscarf in public spaces.

The suggestion coincides with a high-level government response to a newly submitted report on the influence of political Islam in France.

The proposal, led by former prime minister and Renaissance party chief Gabriel Attal, is positioned as a response to perceived threats from Islamist ideologies — specifically the Muslim Brotherhood — which the French government says is undermining republican values and social cohesion.

Attal has also called for the introduction of a new criminal offence to penalise parents who compel their daughters under the age of 18 to wear the headscarf, reported French daily Le Parisien.

In his view, “the Muslim head covering worn by young girls seriously undermines gender equality and the protection of children.”

What the report on the Muslim Brotherhood says

These proposals are unfolding in the context of a broader governmental initiative led by Macron to counter what officials describe as the slow and strategic advancement of “political Islamism” in France.

Macron chaired a high-level meeting with senior ministers in response to the findings of a report he commissioned in 2023, which focuses on the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood — a transnational Islamist movement originally founded in Egypt in 1928.

The report, a copy of which was accessed by both Reuters and Agence France-Presse (AFP), warns that the Brotherhood represents a “threat to national cohesion” and risks “undermining the fabric of society and republican institutions.”

While the government has announced that the full report will not be published, officials confirmed that ministers have been instructed to formulate policy measures based on its conclusions ahead of a follow-up meeting scheduled for June.

According to the report, the Muslim Brotherhood is allegedly promoting its vision by leveraging community institutions such as schools, religious organisations, sports associations and local NGOs.

It refers to this as a “bottom-up” approach aimed at gradually shifting France’s foundational principles, particularly its commitment to secularism and gender equality.

What French law says about secularism

France’s longstanding secular model, known as “laïcité,” is embedded in its constitutional identity and enshrines a strict separation between religion and the state.

This principle has led to a series of legislative actions over the past two decades that restrict the display of religious symbols in public-sector settings.

A 2004 law prohibits students in public schools from wearing overt religious symbols, including Christian crosses, Jewish kippahs, Sikh turbans and Muslim headscarves.

Civil servants, teachers and other government employees are similarly barred from wearing visible religious attire while on duty. In 2023, France also banned students from wearing the abaya, a loose-fitting robe commonly worn by Muslim women, in public schools.

More recently, lawmakers have debated extending this restriction to domestic sports competitions . Supporters argue that such moves reinforce national unity and secular values, while critics argue they disproportionately affect Muslim women and curtail religious freedom.

What the reaction has been

Critics on the left have accused the Macron-led administration of attempting to encroach upon civil liberties and of using Islam as a political wedge issue in a climate where far-right sentiment is on the rise.

Jérôme Guedj, a member of the Socialist Party, criticised Attal’s proposal, claiming he was “chasing the far right” by leveraging secularism in a way that marginalises Muslims.

On the opposite end, far-right figures like Marine Le Pen have long advocated for an even stricter stance . During her 2022 presidential campaign, Le Pen proposed banning the wearing of the hijab for all women in public, a policy she claimed would help curb “Islamist fundamentalism.”

Far-right National Rally leader Jordan Bardella also weighed in on Attal’s current position, accusing him of a policy reversal. Bardella shared a video on social media from a 2022 debate in which Attal had previously warned against the persecution of veiled women under a hypothetical Le Pen administration.

From the Muslim community, there has been a strong pushback against what is seen as a pattern of discriminatory legislation. The French Council of the Muslim Faith released a statement urging authorities not to generalise or stigmatise Muslims, warning that “the state must above all not feed a generalised suspicion towards Muslims in France.”

Similarly, the Federation of Muslims of France denounced the “unfounded accusations” in the government report and warned of “dangerous” conflations between Islam, political Islamism, and extremism.

The organisation noted, “Even unintentional conflations between Islam, political Islamism and radicalism are not only dangerous but counterproductive for the Republic itself.”

The government report identifies the association Musulmans de France as the purported French affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood. The group, however, denies any such affiliation.

Azzedine Gaci, head of the Villeurbanne mosque near Lyon, which is also named in the report, rejected the allegations. The report was a “slap in the face” after he has worked in close collaboration with French authorities for years, he said.

Academic experts, too, have expressed concern about the report’s assumptions. Haoues Seniguer, a political scientist who specialises in political Islam, told Reuters: “In the public debate and politicians’ words, there is a tendency to act as if the distant heirs of the Muslim Brotherhood today had the exact same views as the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928. (This) makes absolutely no sense.”

He added that while Musulmans de France may represent a conservative interpretation of Islam, there is no indication that the group aims to transform French society into an Islamic state.

The report itself acknowledges this nuance. Its conclusions indicate that “no recent evidence” supports the idea that Musulmans de France is seeking to impose Islamic law or establish a parallel state in France.

Nonetheless, the report maintains that the group’s influence could still erode key republican principles if left unchecked.

What next?

As France grapples with the aftermath of several jihadist attacks over the past decade, public sentiment has become increasingly sensitive to issues surrounding Islam.

This has led to growing accusations of Islamophobia, especially from civil rights organisations and Muslim advocacy groups.

There are over six million members of the Muslim population in France, the largest in Europe. Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon stated bluntly on X: “Islamophobia has crossed a line.”

Civic organisations have also pointed to recent crackdowns on Muslim schools and religious education as further evidence that religious freedoms are being curtailed under the pretext of protecting secular values.

Makhlouf Mameche, president of the National Federation for Muslim Education, defended Muslim schools against these allegations. “Our teachings have always been respectful of republican values,” he said. “Our goal is to make sure our pupils succeed.”

Macron has instructed ministers to devise legislative and policy responses to the findings of the Muslim Brotherhood report. These proposals are expected to be finalised and presented at a government meeting in June.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, now leading the centre-right Les Républicains, has echoed concerns about Islamist influence, stating: “Political Islamism is quietly infiltrating sporting, cultural, social and other associations,” and alleging that the ultimate goal is to “tip the whole of French society into sharia [law].”

With inputs from agencies