(Reuters) France’s highest court on Wednesday upheld a ban on barristers wearing the hijab and other religious symbols in courtrooms in the north, a ruling that is the first of its kind and sets a precedent for the rest of the country.
The conspicuous display of religious symbols is an emotive subject in France and the court’s decision may stir a nationwide debate over so-called core Republican values of secularism and identity ahead of April’s presidential election.
The case was brought by Sarah Asmeta, a 30-year-old hijab-wearing French-Syrian lawyer, who challenged a rule set by the Bar Council of Lille that bans religious markers in its courtrooms on the grounds that it was discriminatory.
