I think that ever since the revolution, France has been fairly firmly of the opinion that the ideals of the French nation override religion. In many European countries there’s a debate about where you draw the line between multi-culturism and religious freedom on the one hand and and women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights on the other. France doesn’t have that debate.
It’s entirely consistent with historical French culture that when they thought “should we allow women to be required to wear the hijab in public, or should we require women to never wear the hijab in public” they sided with prohibition over prescription.
I think that ever since the revolution, France has been fairly firmly of the opinion that the ideals of the French nation override religion. In many European countries there’s a debate about where you draw the line between multi-culturism and religious freedom on the one hand and and women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights on the other. France doesn’t have that debate.
It’s entirely consistent with historical French culture that when they thought “should we allow women to be required to wear the hijab in public, or should we require women to never wear the hijab in public” they sided with prohibition over prescription.