The French Senate has cast its vote on a legislative proposal to prohibit the veil in sports competitions. French Sports Minister Marie Barsacq contends that “the challenges of radicalization in sport are distinct from the question of donning the veil and religious symbols.”
On Wednesday, Sports Minister Marie Barsacq cautioned against any “confusion” and “amalgamations” linking the wearing of the veil to radicalization in sport, making it clear that she does not align herself with a text that was passed in the Senate with backing from another government minister.
As the Senate cast its votes on a legislative proposal aimed at prohibiting the veil in sporting events, backed by the Minister of the Interior, François-Noël Buffet, Marie Barsacq contends that “the challenges of radicalization in sport are distinct from the matter of wearing the veil and religious symbols.”
“The aim of the Ministry of Sports is to ensure that sport is accessible to all, and we firmly hold that sport serves as a means of empowerment for everyone,” she remarked during a session with MPs. She had previously informed AFP last week that the potential prohibition on the veil in amateur sport was “not a priority” at this time.
“At times, there exists a certain level of bewilderment and perplexity,” she remarked. “Secularism encompasses more than simply the choice to wear a veil or not,” she remarked. “The act of wearing a veil does not equate to entryism,” she continued, “and entryism itself is not solely defined by the act of wearing a veil.” These matters, she emphasized, are intricate, as she presented a guide for organizations on the topic. The wearing of the veil has sparked considerable debate within French sport, facing bans from certain sports federations like football, while being permitted in others such as handball. This issue has been a point of contention for several years.
The minister faced accusations of “burying her head in the sand” from RN MP Julien Odoul, who, together with Macronist MP Caroline Yadan, authored a report highlighting the “multiple and worrying communitarian and Islamist excesses” within the realm of sport. The latter responded sharply: “What you are aiming at is the Islamic veil.” Does the veil encapsulate the concept of entryism? No, that is not the case. Women in our country are exercising their religious freedom as permitted by the 1905 law, whether one agrees with it or not. This is a fundamental right, upheld in numerous democracies as well.
However, I am not so naive as to overlook the fact that there are circumstances in which women in veils engage, whether under duress or of their own volition, in what we refer to as infiltration. “It’s simply unacceptable (…),” she remarked. “I cannot abide the notion that individuals would decline to shake a woman’s hand; similarly, I find it unacceptable to halt a match for the sake of prayer,” she remarked.
She informed the RN MP that she had “carefully reread” his report, yet she “did not have the same figures” regarding the entryism situations referenced in the document, which noted “500 clubs faced with communitarian behavior.”
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