French Olympians and Paralympians will not be allowed to wear the Muslim headscarf known as the hijab while competing, the French government has confirmed, sparking protest and accusations of hypocrisy from human rights organisations.

The human rights charity Amnesty International has submitted a complaint to the Olympics’ International Organising Committee about the ruling, saying: “Amnesty International believes that when the world will be watching its athletes compete for medals and exercising their right to practice sport without discrimination, it should also cast a critical eye on the Olympics host country, which does not apply Olympic values to everyone.

“The French authorities made it emphatically and unashamedly clear that their proclaimed efforts at improving gender equality and inclusivity in sports do not apply to one group of women and girls; those Muslim women and girls who wear religious head coverings.”

Here’s a look at the situation;

French athletes

Members of the French team of Olympians and Paralympians will not be permitted to wear the hijab while competing or during official events such as medal ceremonies.

Announcing the decision back in 2023, sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra told TV channel France 3 that “representatives of our delegations, in our French teams, will not wear the headscarf” which would ensure “the prohibition of any type of proselytising and the absolute neutrality of the public service”.

Other athletes

However, athletes from other nations are free to wear the hijab. Essentially each country’s athletics federation decides on the kit that its athletes wear – from styles to colours – and that includes whether a hijab or any other kind of head covering can be worn.

Many nations have provisions within the officially sanctioned kit for Muslim women to wear hijabs or other head coverings if they wish. 

Athletes village 

The International Olympic Committee has confirmed that athletes can wear the hijab in the Athletes Village if they wish. Likewise Olympic volunteers can wear a plain head covering if they want, in addition to their official volunteer uniform.

However the IOC has not challenged France’s ban on its own athletes wearing the headscarf, saying “freedom of religion is interpreted in many different ways by different states”.

Spectators

Spectators face no restrictions on head coverings and the hijab can be worn at any Olympic or Paralympic Games venue. Other items of religious clothing such as the kippah or turban are also allowed in all Games venues.

However the burka, niqab or other garments with an integral full face-veil are banned in all public places in France under national French law – this will remain in place during the Games.

Why has France imposed this restriction on its own athletes?

The restriction is to do with France’s state secularism laws, known as laïcité. You can find a full explanation here but basically the law – dating from 1905 – states that everyone can worship as they wish, but that religion must play no part in state functions.

It is this strict neutrality that means that schools do not have regular prayers or a Christmas nativity play, and public servants such as police officers, firefighters or town hall employees may not wear any outward signs of religion (eg a crucifix, kippah or hijab) while at work.

In 2004 this rule was extended to ban pupils and teachers in French schools from wearing the hijab, although parents and other visitors can enter the building while wearing one.

In 2010, the country brought in a complete ban on clothing that includes full-face coverings – including the burka and niqab. These cannot be worn in any public space in France, at risk of a €150 fine.

The hijab however, is completely legal in public spaces including shops, cafés and the streets and it’s common to see women wearing them, especially in certain areas of the big cities like Paris.

Although originally designed in 1905 to combat the power of the Catholic Church, in recent years France’s laïcité laws have been much criticised because of their disproportionate emphasis on the dress codes of Muslim women.

Attempting to extend such rules into, for example, a complete ban on the hijab is a regular fixation of France’s right-wing and far-right politicians.

READ ALSO What does French state secularism (laïcté) really mean?

So does this mean that French amateur or professional athletes can’t wear the hijab during non-Olympic periods?

Slightly confusingly, it depends on the sport – some of the French sports federations do allow players to wear the hijab while others don’t. In both cases the federation’s ruling extends to professional players and amateurs who are playing on a federation ground (which includes, for example, most municipal football pitches or tennis courts).

A group of headscarf-wearing female footballers known as les hijabeuses attempted to take legal action against the French Football Federation in 2023 but were defeated.

In the final ruling the Constitutional Council – the highest authority on such matters – said that although that women players were users of public services and therefore not bound by laïcité, the French Football Federation is entitled to issue whatever rules it believes necessary for matches to “run smoothly”.

The federations of sports including rugby and handball do allow players to wear the hijab.