French presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen said Monday she would put a referendum before voters to “combat Islamist ideologies” in France, including a measure to impose fines on people who violate the country’s 2010 ban on full-face veils in public — a law she says is rarely enforced today.
Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party, framed the proposal as a matter of defending women’s equality. “How could France defend its values with politicians who lack so much courage that they allow an ideology to claim the inferiority of women?” she said. “Fighting against Islamist ideology and defending equality require courage and determination. Like the French people, I believe I have that courage and that determination.”
The referendum on Islamist ideology would come alongside a separate ballot measure National Rally has proposed on immigration policy. That measure would ask voters directly on questions including whether to abolish birthright citizenship, limit welfare benefits to French citizens, and order the “systematic expulsion of foreign offenders and criminals.”
Le Pen’s position puts her at odds with her leading rival in the presidential race, former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, a onetime ally of President Emmanuel Macron. Philippe said Monday: “The important thing at this stage is to respect the law as it exists today; I don’t think it’s necessary to go further.”
Le Pen responded by accusing Philippe of admitting his own record on the issue was weak, saying he had “failed to properly enforce the law banning the full-face veil when he was Prime Minister.” She added: “Worse, he also confirms that he will do nothing against an Islamist veil that he himself denounced in 2025 as an act of submission for women and even… for little girls.”
The debate over veiling has been tied by some French officials to broader concerns about Islamist influence in community institutions. A French intelligence report issued last year found that the Muslim Brotherhood places trained operatives in roles such as teachers, sports organizers, shop managers, employment counselors, and even dating coaches, with the goal of enforcing conservative religious practices including fasting, beard-wearing, and the veiling of women and girls. The report described this as part of a broader strategy to challenge Western institutions in Europe.
