REPORT: Religion, once taboo, finds a place in France's election campaign

Long taboo in French politics, religion has turned into a major topic in France's current presidential campaign. While conservative Francois Fillon displays his Catholic devotion, French Muslims say they feel stigmatized by far-right candidate Marine Le Pen's harsh rhetoric.

The current French government is based on a law established in 1905 on the principle of the separation of church and state.

In March the European Union's top court ruled that employers may bar staff from wearing visible religious symbols, based on a case in which a French IT consultant was told to remove her headscarf after a client complained.

And in the summer, a huge amount of international controversy was sparked after many towns in France decided to ban full-body burkini swimsuits.

This shone a light on secular France's long-standing difficulties integrating its Muslim population and dealing with the aftermath of a series of Islamist attacks.

Thus, the prevalence and significance of religion in secular France's current election campaign is notable.

Conservative Francois Fillon, a devout Catholic and father of five children, has been very open about his Christian faith while running for the French presidency.

He attended Easter celebrations at a Coptic Christian church in a southwest suburb of Paris earlier in April, saying he was there to show his support for “Christians of the East.”

In January, the politician declared that he was a “Gaullist” and a “Christian,” affirming his allegiance to his faith and to the legacy of the former President Charles de Gaulle.

Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen consistently uses harsh rhetoric in relation to Islam in her speeches.

In a speech about her security agenda in April, she vowed to address the threat of radicalization in France by restricting the external financing and administration of mosques and suppressing communitarianism to uphold secular values.

Following the attack in Paris on Thursday claimed by Islamic State in which a policeman was shot, Le Pen said she feared further attacks and yet again used the attack to back her policies.

This attack is the latest in a long series of attacks attributed to Islamic fundamentalists in France.

In July 2016, the Catholic Church was targeted when two assailants loyal to Islamic State interrupted a church service in Normandy, took several hostages and forced a 85-year-old Roman Catholic priest to his knees at the altar and slit his throat.

Muslims exiting a Paris mosque on Friday spoke to Reuters TV, urging that this should not be taken as representative of the Muslim religion.