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POLITICS

Is France really planning to ban the Muslim headscarf?

Recent days have seen a proliferation of social media posts protesting against a proposed 'hijab ban' in France - but is there really a plan to ban the Muslim headscarf?

Is France really planning to ban the Muslim headscarf?
Muslim headscarves are not banned n the streets of France. Photo: Fred Dufour/AFP

What has happened?

The protests started when Somali-Norwegian model Rawdah Mohamed posted a selfie on Instagram account with the hashtage #handsoffmyhijab slamming France’s proposal to ban the Muslim headscarf.

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Rawdah 🕊 (@rawdis)

The hashtag, and its French equivalent #Pastoucheamonhijab was shared around the world, including by Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad and the US congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

What proposals are they referring to?

These are amendments put forward by the Senate, the French upper house of parliament, to the government’s ‘anti-separatism’ law.

This is a flagship piece of legislation from Emmanuel Macron’s government that aims to ‘strengthen republican values’ and combat extreme forms of Islam which promote separatism and terror attacks.

ANALYSIS What is contained in France’s law against Islamic extremism?

The bill includes a variety of measures such as cracking down on hate speech, limiting the right to home-schooling and giving the government extra powers to limit foreign funding of places of worship – however it does not contain any measures further limiting the right to wear the hijab in France.

The bill passed through the Assemblée nationale – the lower house of parliament – in February and is now being debated in the Senate, where Senators have taken the opportunity to add several amendments targeting Muslim women – including banning mums from wearing the hijab when accompanying school trips, banning girls under the age of 18 from wearing the headscarf at all and banning the wearing of the full-body ‘burkini’ swimsuit.

So does that mean these amendments will be adopted?

No, most political commentators say these measures are highly unlikely to become law.

Under the French political system it is the Asemblée nationale that has the final say on legislation, not the Senate, and Senators have already tried and failed several times in recent years to introduce similar measures further limiting the wearing of the hijab.

Similar amendments were also proposed when the bill passed through the lower house in February and were voted down and France’s Interior Minister has strongly argued against a ban on the wearing of the hijab in all public spaces.

Even if these measures were voted through both parliaments, they would be likely to be ruled unlawful.

In the case of the ‘burkini ban’, several local mayors in 2016 attempted to introduce this, only to have their bans overturned after they were ruled unlawful by the Conseil d’Etat (Council of State).

READ ALSO ‘My body, my choice’ – Muslim women in France on why they wear the hijab

Are there restrictions in France on what Muslim women can wear?

Yes, France in 2010 brought in a complete ban on full-face coverings including the burka and niqab. This cannot be worn in any public space in France, at risk of a €150 fine.

There are further restrictions on the wearing of the headscarf in some public buildings. In line with France’s laws on laÏcité (secularism) it is forbidden to wear overt symbols of religion – including the Muslim headscarf – in government buildings including schools and universities or for public officials such as teachers, firefighters or police officers to wear overt symbols of religion.

EXPLAINED What exactly does laïcité mean in France?

However the hijab is legal in public spaces including shops, cafés and the streets.

Burkininis are not allowed in public swimming pools in France where there are strict rules on dress (Speedos only for men and compulsory swimming caps) but are allowed on beaches and in other public spaces.

Member comments

  1. In my Oxford/Hachette dictionary “laicite”, as a concept, is defined as “secularism” (as in the article). In my Concise Oxford English dictionary “secularism” is a derivative of “secular”, in turn defined as “not religious, sacred or spiritual”, also in the Christian Church defined as “not subject to or bound by religious rule” – presumably Christian Church rule. Additionally there are other meanings not religiously related.
    Unfortunately I don’t have a decent French language dictionary to see how “laicite” is defined in its own language. Can someone help?
    So if “laicite” becomes law as so far interepreted, the possibility emerges of any sort of religious identity, of any faith, becoming illegal. This in turn will lead to a host of scholarly legal interpretation as to who wears what on a daily basis, let alone down on the beach. Don’t forget those dress elements which can be used to disguise recognition for clandestine or vain purposes.
    And if such laws are passed, then the rawdis type of experience (or worse) will need to be sanctioned for the protection of all.
    Does the word “tolerance” come in to this at any point?

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POLITICS

France plans cuts to its generous unemployment system

France's prime minister, Gabriel Attal, announced plans to change the country's famously generous unemployment benefits system - cutting both benefits paid and how workers qualify for them.

France plans cuts to its generous unemployment system

During a televised interview with TF1 on Wednesday, France’s prime minister Gabriel Attal announced that the government would seek to reform the unemployment benefits system this year. 

Attal said that the goal would be “to have the parameters of the reform prepared during the summer, so that it can come into force in the autumn”.

This would mark the third time that the system – which has a budget of €45 billion per year – has been reformed under President Emmanuel Macron’s tenure. Previous changes have included adding extra requirements for job-seekers to search for work and undertake training courses.

Can you really get €6k a month on benefits in France?

During the interview, Attal laid out a few options for reform, without offering specific details.

Why change the system now?

The announcement came after it was revealed on Tuesday that France’s budget deficit had reached €154 billion – or 5.5 percent of GDP – and was set to rise even further over the next two years unless action is taken.

Both president Emmanuel Macron and his finance minister Bruno Le Maire have ruled out tax rises, and say that the money can be found through cuts to state spending. Attal echoed this during his interview with TF1.

Le Maire will present a package of cuts to ministers of April 17th, entitled the programme de stabilité (PSTAB).

OPINION: France has been in denial for decades about its ‘magic money tree’ spending

But reforming the unemployment system was on the cards even before the budget deficit news, as the president attempts to push France toward ‘full employment’ – defined as 5.5 percent of working age people officially without a job – by the end of his term in 2027.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate in France reached 7.5 percent of the working population, according to data published by INSEE.

How could unemployment be modified?

Attal discussed several possibilities for reforming the system on Wednesday, each focusing on the parameters that are considered when applying unemployment benefits.

READ MORE: How generous is France’s unemployment system?

The first is the duration of the compensation. Currently, you can receive unemployment benefits for up to 18 months at a time if you are aged under 53; 23 months if you are 53 or 54; and 27 months if you are 55 and over. 

That being said, most people are not unemployed for that long.

This in itself is one of the previous reforms taken under Macron’s term – in February 2023, France reduced the unemployment compensation time from a maximum of 24 months for under-53s to 18 months.

Attal said that one option would be to reduce the duration of compensation “by several months (…) but I don’t think it should go below 12 months.”

The second option would be to increase the number of months required for one to access the benefit. As things stand, workers must have been employed for for at least 6 months (130 days or 910 hours) in the previous 24 months – there is no limit on the number of employers you have worked for in that time.

The period rises to six months in the previous 36 months if you were 53 years old on the end date of your last employment contract. 

Attal said: “We can imagine either saying – we need to work for longer or that the six months should be assessed over a shorter period.”

As for the third option, it would involve changing “how much you earn and how much this decreases [over time] to encourage people to return to work”, Attal said, without offering further details as to how the calculation of the benefit would be altered.

The current system determines the amount of monthly unemployment benefits based on percentage of your previous salary, rather than a flat rate. The gist is: the more you earned, the more you’ll get.

It’s worked out according to a rather complicated formula that gives job-seekers around 57 percent of average salary during their last 12 months of work.

There is a ceiling to this – the maximum amount is €6,615 per month (although you would need to have been earning more than €10,000 a month previously in order to get that).

After 12 months of unemployment, the rate is reduced and a new rule means that people under the age of 57 who previously earned more than €4,500 a month have their rate reduced after eight months.

Attal said this third possibility is “less to [his] liking than the previous ones, but we will let the experts and stakeholders work this out.”

READ MORE: How France’s bid to tackle ‘wild’ budget deficit could impact you

Would this bring France in line with its neighbours?

France’s current system is more generous than many of its European neighbours, especially due to the fact that benefits are offered after just six months of work.

In Germany, workers must have been employed for at least 12 months over the last 30 months in Germany to be entitled to six months of compensation. 

Meanwhile, in the UK, the minimum amount of time worked must have been at least 12 months over the last two years – longer than France’s six month minimum as well.

Several other European countries also apply a flat rate the benefits, rather than France’s percentage system.

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