Sat 09 April 2022:
On Thursday, Marine Le Pen, a far-right presidential candidate in France, promised to penalize Muslims who wear headscarves in public, as politicians made one last push for votes three days before a tightening election.
President Emmanuel Macron built an insurmountable lead before of Sunday’s first round of voting, but Le Pen has closed the gap and feels she has a realistic chance of winning the April 24 run-off.
With France’s main right- and left-wing parties in shambles, far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon is on track to finish third, and he still thinks he can force a run-off.
Le Pen outlined how her commitment to prohibiting the headscarf in all public venues would be implemented to RTL radio, stating it would be enforced by police in the same manner that seatbelts are imposed in cars.
“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.
Le Pen has said she will use referendums to try to avoid constitutional challenges to many of her proposed laws on the basis that they are discriminatory and an infringement on personal freedoms.
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.
Le Pen, 53, has toned down her anti-immigration rhetoric during campaigning this year and has focused instead on household spending, putting her closer than ever to power, polls indicate.
The latest surveys suggest she is within striking distance of centrist Macron if the two of them come top in the first round of voting on Sunday.
A second-round run-off election is set for April 24, with surveys showing Macron with a modest advantage of 54 percent to 46 percent over Le Pen.
Melenchon is also on the rise ahead of the election, claiming that he has a potential to surprise voters.
Ukraine’s crisis, as well as the strains on the health-care system after two years of Covid-19, are among the top voter concerns, trailing only inflation and incomes.
France has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe, a community that has seen increased discrimination in recent years.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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