French president Emmanuel Macron has reignited a heated national debate by voicing support for a ban on religious symbols, including the Islamic veil, during sports competitions — a stance that could soon become law.

In a televised interview on TF1 Info, as reported by Alex Oller for Inside the Games, Macron cited the Olympic Charter’s call for political and religious neutrality to justify his position, emphasizing his desire to uphold “equality between men and women.” While he made a distinction between training settings and official matches, Macron said he supports proposed legislation that would prohibit all religious symbols during competitive events, leaving only non-competition spaces open for individual expression.

“In facilities, for training and initiation, pragmatism is needed,” Macron said. “Our law does not prevent [wearing the veil] there. But in competition, I am in favor of neutrality.”

Fragmented rules may soon give way to a national ban

Macron’s remarks come as the French National Assembly prepares to review a bill introduced by Senator Michel Savin earlier this year, which already passed in the Senate with a wide majority. The law seeks to standardize religious symbol bans across all sports in France, replacing the current patchwork system that leaves the decision up to individual federations.

For now, disciplines like football, basketball, volleyball, and rugby ban the hijab, while others — such as handball and athletics — allow it. Critics argue this inconsistency is unfair and ripe for politicization, while supporters say the hijab represents submission and religious influence that should not exist in secular sporting spaces.

Backlash mounts: Athletes and rights groups speak out

Macron’s statement has drawn criticism from athletes and human rights organizations alike. Muslim weightlifter Sylvie Eberana, a national amateur champion, has publicly voiced fears that she may no longer be allowed to compete under the new law. Her widely shared interview with StreetPress on 4 March has become a rallying point for hijab-wearing athletes.

Even judo legend Teddy Riner, a gold medalist at the Paris 2024 Games, dismissed the entire debate as “a waste of time,” and called for real action toward inclusion and equality.

Meanwhile, UN experts and Amnesty International condemned the draft law as “disproportionate and discriminatory.” A 2022 Interior Ministry report also noted no significant radicalization trend in French sport, despite fears stoked by hardline lawmakers like Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.

“We need to ban the veil from sporting events in order to preserve sport as a sanctuary,” Retailleau told AFP, dismissing Riner’s comments as misguided.

What’s next?

The bill’s fate now rests with the National Assembly. If passed, it would extend France’s strict secularist model — already applied to civil servants, students, and athletes representing France abroad — to domestic competitions. This would make France one of the few countries in the world to implement such a sweeping ban in national sport.

As lawmakers gear up for a final vote, athletes, rights groups, and global observers will be watching closely — and so will France’s hijab-wearing athletes, many of whom may soon face a difficult choice: faith or competition.