A bill banning the wearing of headscarves in sporting competitions will be referred to the French National Assembly after the Senate refused on Wednesday to vote on the legislation.
The bill aims to "democratize sport," including the rules for managing major sports federations.
But it does include a clause, previously appended as an amendment by the conservative-dominated Senate, to ban the wearing of "obvious religious symbols" at events and competitions organized by sports federations.
However, the move was opposed by the centrist government of President Emmanuel Macron and its allies, which have a majority in the National Assembly, which holds the final vote on the project.
The wearing of religious symbols in public and the status of religion in general have long been hotly debated topics in France, a largely secular country that is home to Europe's largest Muslim minority.
Identity and the status of Islam in French society are among the thorny issues that occupy public opinion before the presidential elections in April, in which two candidates from the far-right are competing, and their programs depend on questioning the compatibility of Islam with the values of the republic.
Together, the two have nearly 35 percent of voter support.
Thousands of miles away, divisions over the headscarf led to protests in the Indian state of Karnataka after authorities there banned the wearing of headscarves in classrooms.
Macron's government was quick to denounce the amendment.
With the majority of his party and allies in the House of Representatives, the amendment is likely to be removed from the bill.
France will host the Summer Olympics in 2024, and critics of the legislation have questioned how much it would affect fashion protocol for the Games, whose participants will include conservative Muslim countries, if the law is passed.