French activists and citizens did not wait for the far right to come to power before organizing a response. Instead, they moved to address preemptively what they see as threats to ban the hijab in public spaces, launching a solidarity campaign on social media under the hashtag #FoulardPourTous (“Hijab for All”).

The campaign followed statements by National Rally MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy in an interview with BFM TV on Aug. 30, in which he said that the party intends to impose a fine on people who wear the Islamic headscarf in public places if Marine Le Pen wins the 2027 presidential election. The remarks triggered widespread political and legal controversy. Le Pen subsequently confirmed her willingness to introduce legislation aimed at combating what she calls “Islamism,” which could include criminalizing the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in public spaces.

The proposal would impose financial penalties on women who wear the hijab. In the National Rally’s rhetoric, the hijab is presented not simply as a choice of dress, but as a manifestation of an ideology that the party considers incompatible with the values of the French Republic. The party has also justified its position by arguing that it seeks to counter the coercion of women to wear the hijab in some countries. Critics reject this rationale, arguing that it conflates coercive practices in some contexts with women’s voluntary religious observance elsewhere.

The statements prompted a backlash on social media, where French women — both Muslim and non-Muslim — began posting photographs and videos of themselves wearing hijabs or covering their heads with scarves. Their posts expressed solidarity with veiled women and opposition to what they regarded as an infringement on freedom of choice and individual rights. Men also joined the campaign, while some participants used artificial-intelligence tools to create images conveying the same message.

The campaign’s objective goes beyond symbolic solidarity. Some participants have said they would be willing to wear the hijab regularly in public if a law banning it were enacted. They argue that widespread collective adoption of the hijab could become a form of civil disobedience, making enforcement of such a ban considerably more difficult.

From an Islamic legal perspective, the hijab is not merely a social custom or cultural symbol. It is understood within Islamic jurisprudence as a religious obligation for adult Muslim women, based on interpretations of the Qur’an and Sunnah. For Muslim women who observe it, wearing the hijab constitutes an act of religious practice and an expression of faith. Its significance, from this perspective, is not dependent on whether the woman lives in a Muslim-majority or non-Muslim-majority society.