"Double Standards".. Marine Le Pen's Smile with Nuns in Headscarves Sparks Controversy in France

A photo taken during the historic visit of Pope Leo XIV to France has sparked new controversy over the hijab, religion, and French secularism, after the leader of the far-right in France, Marine Le Pen, who has been convicted in corruption cases and is a potential candidate for the National Rally in the upcoming French presidential elections, was seen smiling alongside a Christian nun wearing the traditional head covering of nuns. The photo was published by the European Parliament member from the National Rally, Mathieu Vallée, on the platform "X," accompanied by the phrase "The Renaissance of Beautiful France."

The scene gained additional sensitivity due to its timing. The photo came just weeks after Le Pen reopened the file on banning the Islamic hijab in public spaces, as she announced at the end of August that she wanted, if she reached the Élysée Palace, to propose a law to combat what she calls "Islamic ideologies" through a referendum, which includes criminalizing the wearing of the Islamic hijab in public places and imposing financial penalties on women who wear it.

Thus, the photo appeared, to critics, as a striking visual and political paradox: the same religious head covering almost appears at the heart of a public event associated with the Pope, welcomed by a political figure with a smile, while the same party discusses imposing penalties on Muslim women wearing the hijab in the street.

This comparison fueled social media and crystallized in public discourse accusations of a "double standard" in dealing with religious appearances.

However, from a legal standpoint, there is a fundamental point that must be clarified. The Christian nun in the photo was not committing an offense under French law, and the Muslim woman wearing a hijab that only covers her hair is not currently committing an offense merely for wearing it in the street.

The current French restrictions vary depending on the location, position, and type of clothing; however, Le Pen's project goes much further than the existing law, targeting the Islamic hijab in public spaces.

Notably, the debate was not limited to the image. On September 3, Christian and non-Muslim women appeared on social media wearing the hijab symbolically in solidarity with Muslim women, protesting against the National Rally's project. One participant stated that she is Christian and is willing to wear the hijab "in support of her sisters," while videos circulated of other women covering their hair as a message of solidarity.

Some police officers also entered the discussion. French media reported police officer and union member Rodi Mana criticizing the idea of assigning police to issue fines against women wearing hijabs, stating that the police have other more important tasks than this type of violation.

This coincided with the visit of Pope Leo XIV, which turned into a major public and political event in France. Le Pen and Jordan Bardella participated in the mass held by the Pope in Place de la Concorde in Paris on September 26, amidst a wide political presence and a crowd estimated at around 800,000 people according to the Vatican.

In contrast, the National Rally attempted to distinguish between Christianity and political Islam. The party's vice president, Sébastien Chenu, stated that his party "fights Islamism and does not fight a religion," in response to a question about the Pope's stance on secularism and keeping religion in the public sphere.

The Pope himself stated during his visit that "just secularism" does not mean excluding religion from the public sphere, a statement that French media considered directly related to the debate over the hijab, especially since Le Pen's project is based on the concept of secularism to justify banning the Islamic hijab.

Thus, the image of Le Pen smiling next to a head-covered nun transformed from just a snapshot during a papal visit into new material in the French debate about the limits of secularism: Should the standard be the religious form itself, the identity of the person wearing it, or the political message that the attire is supposed to convey? While supporters of the National Rally project believe that the Islamic hijab can represent, in some cases, an expression of "Islamism," critics argue that singling out the Islamic hijab raises questions about the equality in applying the principle of secularism.