Outgoing French President Emmanuel Macron has accused his far-right rival Marine Le Pen of risking a "civil war" in France if she is elected president and fulfills her pledge to ban Hijab in public places.
Le Pen, during a televised presidential debate, affirmed her devotion to her controversial idea of banning veils, which she considers "a uniform imposed by Islamists," according to her opinion, but she stressed that she "does not fight Islam."
"You are pushing millions of our citizens out of public space," Macron said to Le Pen, considering that this would be a "law of ostracism".
In turn, Le Pen responded by saying that “it would be a law in defense of freedom."
“You will spark a civil war. I say that honestly,” Macron stressed.
The issue of the Islamic veil is a sensitive topic that has had a recurring presence in French politics for years. The wearing of visible religious symbols is currently prohibited in schools and state administrations, but not in public places.