Sébastien Chenu, vice-president of the Rassemblement National (RN), said the party proposes banning the Islamic veil in public spaces [1].
The proposal signals a push by the right-wing party to integrate strict secularism into its platform ahead of the 2027 presidential election [2]. By tying the ban to a national referendum, the party seeks to leverage public sentiment as a central pillar of its electoral strategy.
During an interview with BFMTV on Monday, Aug. 31 [3], Chenu said that the measure would be conditioned upon the election of Marine Le Pen to the presidency [2]. He expressed a desire for the garment to disappear from the French landscape, saying, "Qu'on ne le voie plus dans notre pays" [4].
The RN argues that such a ban is necessary to apply the principles of laïcité, or secularism, across the country [2]. The party intends to use the referendum to validate the legality and social acceptance of the ban, a move that would bypass some of the legislative hurdles currently facing such a restriction [5].
However, the proposal has not been met with total unity within the party. Reports indicate internal disagreements regarding the move, specifically between Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella [2]. These frictions suggest a tension between the party's desire to maintain a hardline stance on identity and the strategic need to avoid being perceived as too radical by moderate voters.
Despite these internal disputes, the party's public messaging remains focused on the 2027 [2] goal. The RN continues to position the ban as a non-negotiable aspect of its vision for French national identity.
“"Qu'on ne le voie plus dans notre pays"”
The RN's strategy of proposing a referendum suggests an attempt to democratize a controversial policy to shield the party from accusations of authoritarianism. By shifting the decision to the voters, the party can campaign on a hardline identity platform while framing the eventual outcome as the will of the people rather than a partisan mandate.
