Turkey condemns controversial French bill

ANKARA

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has “strongly condemned and rejected” a draft law proposal adopted by the French Senate that would oblige Muslim mothers wearing headscarves to remove them when accompanying children on school trips.

“Justifying the headscarf ban with the interpretation of ‘People Providing Services’ clause targets directly mothers who accompany their children, not public service providers. This is a new example of France’s discriminatory and marginalizing approach that treats Muslims differently from other groups. This is unacceptable to the Turkish and Muslim communities living in France, as well as to our country and other countries that believe in universal values,” said the ministry statement on Oct. 31.

“It is yet another example of the hypocrisy and double standard of countries which refer to freedom at each opportunity but violate fundamental rights and freedoms,” it said.

“We hope that France will step back from this mistake by listening to these warnings and opposition and that the draft proposal will be rejected in the National Assembly,” it said.

The controversial bill was adopted on Oct. 31 by the French Senate. A total of 163 senators voted in favor of the bill while 114 voted against it.

The bill also needs to be approved by the National Assembly to take effect.

But as the ruling party, the Republic on the Move — which has a majority in the National Assembly — is against the bill, it is unlikely that the bill will be approved.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Oct. 24: “Wearing of headscarf in public spaces is not my business, however, in public services, at school and while educating children, the headscarf issue is my business. That is what secularism is about.”