Without this measure, Emmanuel Macron's five-year term will leave a "terrible aftertaste of submission to Islamism", said Mr. Ciotti before the Assembly, during the new reading of a bill LREM on the sport.

"Everywhere Islamism wants to impose its rules," he continued, defending in vain a motion to reject the bill beforehand.

"The veil is a prison for women, an object of submission and negation of individuals," added the "authority" adviser to candidate LR, who called on the majority to break "with the Munich spirit".

And to conclude, under the boos of the majority: "the French are witnesses, they will be the judges tomorrow. You have only one choice: honor or submission".

The Senate, dominated by the right, voted on January 19 an amendment prohibiting the wearing of "conspicuous religious symbols" during a sports competition, immediately erased by the deputies.

Since the two chambers could not agree on a common text, the text is back before the Assembly, with a view to final adoption on February 24.

MPs will have the last word.

On behalf of the government, Secretary of State Nathalie Elimas was surprised at the "political platform" offered by Mr. Ciotti.

"We are fighting against radicalization in sport like never before," she said, particularly after the vote last summer on the law against separatism.

"You could make a good Prime Minister of Mr. Zemmour", launched to Mr. Ciotti the ex-LR deputy Pierre-Yves Bournazel (Agir group).

Régis Juanico (PS app) also spoke out against the words of the elected representative of the Alpes-Maritimes: sport is "carrying integration, republican fraternity, not hatred or division".

Former Minister Marie-George Buffet (PCF) called for "trust" so that "secularism, neutrality are at the heart of our sports practices".

A demonstration scheduled for Wednesday near the Palais Bourbon at the call of the "Hijabeuses", a collective of footballers who campaign for the right to wear the veil during competitions, was banned on Tuesday by the police headquarters.

Women take part in a demonstration of "hijabeuses", a collective defending the right to wear the veil during competitions, train at the Jardin du Luxembourg, in Paris, on January 26, 2022 BERTRAND GUAY AFP / Archives

The collective decided to "cancel the event" for "security reasons" after appealing.

Seized in summary proceedings, the administrative court ruled in their favor and considered that "the applicants are justified in maintaining that the contested decree "constitutes a disproportionate measure with regard to the imperatives of protection of the alleged public order".

The court therefore suspended the prefect's decree and ordered "the prefect of police to remove any obstacle to the holding of the declared demonstration".

© 2022 AFP