Le Pen Proposes Referendum on Islamism, Muslim Brotherhood Ban and Phased Hijab Restrictions

Marine Le Pen has proposed holding a national referendum on measures to combat Islamist ideologies if she becomes French president in 2027, including banning the Muslim Brotherhood and targeting Islamist financing, radical mosques and extremist preaching.

The Rassemblement National presidential candidate outlined the plan during an interview with LCI on Wednesday.

Le Pen said the referendum’s objective would be to “fight against Islamist ideologies” and would cover measures against financing, radical mosques and imams delivering messages she considers unacceptable.

She also said it would seek to ban the Muslim Brotherhood in France.

Phased restrictions on the hijab

Le Pen said the referendum would also provide a mandate for progressively restricting the Islamic veil.

Immediately following the vote, she said she would use decrees to introduce restrictions covering universities, school trips, sports federations and public buildings.

She described those measures as a first step towards reducing the presence of the hijab more widely in public space.

Le Pen characterised the veil as an expression of what she called a “totalitarian Islamist ideology” that places pressure on women and restricts their freedom and dignity.

The proposal specifically concerns Islamist ideology and Islamic religious dress. It is not a general prohibition on religious practice.

Referendums central to Le Pen’s programme

The Islamism referendum would not be Le Pen’s first proposed national vote if she wins the presidency.

She said an initial constitutional referendum would be held after taking office to enable implementation of her immigration programme. The referendum on Islamist ideologies would follow later.

Her use of referendums is likely to become part of a wider constitutional dispute over how far a president can use direct votes to implement policies facing legal obstacles.

Le Pen has argued that France’s Constitutional Council should not operate as a counterweight to decisions made directly by the electorate.

Her proposals on Islamic dress are already contested by political opponents. Earlier this month, former prime minister Gabriel Attal argued that an adult woman who freely chooses to wear a hijab does not threaten the Republic, while other opponents have questioned whether a general public-space ban would be legally enforceable.

Presidential stakes

The proposals come as Le Pen begins her campaign for the 2027 presidential election.

Recent polling places her well ahead in first-round voting intentions. An Ipsos-BVA study of more than 13,000 people published this week confirmed that Le Pen held a substantial first-round lead, although polling months before an election measures current preferences rather than its eventual outcome.

That gives the proposals significance beyond another dispute over French secularism.

A leading presidential candidate is proposing that French voters themselves decide on a package directed specifically at political Islam, including its organisations, financing, religious institutions and public manifestations.

If Le Pen reaches the Élysée, the argument would then move from campaigning to a much harder question: how far those measures can legally go under France’s constitutional order.

Sources

• AFP – Le Pen sets out referendum and phased hijab restrictions
• AFP – 2027 presidential polling context
• TF1 Info – constitutional questions surrounding proposed veil restrictions