French Presidential Elections 2027: Marine Le Pen Wants to Ban the Hijab
The far-right National Rally party plans to put the issue of banning the hijab in public spaces on a referendum if it wins the presidential elections scheduled for April and May next year. This proposal, long supported by party leader Marine Le Pen, has raised concerns among Muslims and sparked debate over its compatibility with the constitution. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, wants to organize a popular referendum to ban Muslim women from wearing the hijab in public spaces.
The proposal to ban the hijab in public spaces in France has resurfaced as the next presidential election, scheduled for April 2027, approaches. Most polls indicate that Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, could win. Le Pen recently reiterated her stance via a tweet on her X (formerly Twitter) account, stating that she “intends to organize a popular referendum on a decision to ban the wearing of the hijab in public places in France and on immigration.” This is not the first time Le Pen has expressed this demand; she previously raised it during her three prior presidential campaigns in 2012, 2017, and 2022.
Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a National Rally deputy from the Somme region in northern France, preempted Le Pen’s tweet by saying that his party intends to “penalize the wearing of the Islamic hijab” by “imposing a fine” if it comes to power next year. Tanguy stated, “It’s settled. We will penalize the wearing of the hijab.” He added, “If the National Rally wins next year and there are women wearing the hijab despite it being banned, they will be fined,” similar to “people who do not wear seat belts” while driving. He did not disclose the amount of the fine.
Party president Jordan Bardella, however, showed greater caution, clarifying that he does not want to create a “clothing police.” He said, “The French people will decide through a referendum whether they want such a measure or not.” He spoke more specifically about organizing two referendums if the far-right National Rally wins the presidential elections: one on immigration and the other on the issue of Islamic ideology. He said, “There will certainly be a proposal to extend the ban on religious symbols to include schools and the public sphere.” Bardella added, “There will not be an outright ban in the literal sense of the word when we come to power. But there will certainly be a societal debate on the place of Islamism,” noting that the second referendum would include “many other measures” without specifying their nature.
Later, Marine Le Pen confirmed via a tweet on her X account that she would present to the French people, through a referendum, a major law “to combat Islamic ideologies, including many strong measures, such as criminalizing the wearing of the Islamic hijab in public spaces.”
The proposal to ban this religious symbol is not new for the leader of the National Rally group in the National Assembly. On the contrary, she has supported it since her first presidential campaign in 2012. She maintained this position ten years later, during the second-round presidential debate against Emmanuel Macron.
However, this proposal raises constitutional questions that only recently began to emerge within the National Rally. For example, in 2025, Jordan Bardella himself considered that “this matter (i.e., banning the hijab in public spaces) cannot be done overnight,” acknowledging that “implementation is complex.”
In response to Marine Le Pen’s statements and those of her supporters, the French government expressed reservations. Government spokesperson Maëlys Brigand confirmed that these “reservations concern the constitutionality” of such a measure and “its feasibility.”
