Paris: French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen on Thursday pledged to issue fines to Muslims who wear headscarves in public. Le Pen feels she has a real chance of winning the run-off on April 24.
Le Pen explained to RTL radio how her pledge to ban the headscarf in all public spaces would be implemented. She said it would be enforced by police in the same way as seatbelt-wearing in cars.
AFP quoted her as saying, “People will be given a fine in the same way that it is illegal to not wear your seat belt. It seems to me that the police are very much able to enforce this measure,” she said.
In order to avoid constitutional challenges to many of her proposed laws on the basis that they are discriminatory and an infringement on personal freedoms, Le Pen suggested that she would use referendums.
According to the agency, previous legislation in France banning obvious religious symbols in schools or full-face coverings in public was allowed on the basis that it applied to all citizens and in specific settings.
A second round run-off is scheduled for April 24. An average of polls indicates that President Emmanuel Macron has a slight lead of 54 percent versus 46 percent for Le Pen.
