The French Government has argued that the measure meets the need to comply with the secularism principle. The Islamic veil, the Jewish kippa, the Sikh turban or the large Christian crossings are prohibited. However, “discreet” religious symbols are allowed. It does not affect private centres.

The parties on the right have taken the decision with satisfaction. “Communism is the leprosy that threatens the Republic,” said Les Républicains. Some left-wing parties have also seen the ban well, but others have perceived a xenophobic populist tone that has linked it more to Islamophobia than to the defence of secularism. The Government of France is “obsessed” with Muslims from La France Insoumise: “How far will the clothing police come? The measure is unconstitutional, a sign of obsessive rejection of Muslims.”

It is not the first time in the French State that such prohibitions have been committed. A few years ago, when the use of burquini was banned in many villages, it was directly related to violence, arguing that burqui is “a sign of attachment to jihadism” or that it must be interpreted as “provocation”, to the extent that this type of garment means “that may increase tension” in society. Female oppression is also often justified: “The result of a political project based on the female domain,” according to then minister Manuel Valls.

Towards the female body

However, young girls will bear the brunt of this measure. “Last year they banned the short top, now abayah, always social control over the bodies of women and young women,” they criticize from The Greens. Activist Briggite Vasallo also read the matter in a similar vein, when they banned iron: “The veil or the burquini are not a debate, it is a debate, whatever the reason why women who dress like this are marginalizing themselves from public spaces. And these women, in addition, are part of a minority group that is suffering particularly severe racist violence in Europe; for them we should be making it easier to breathe.”