I’m pretty sure within the last decade France made it illegal to wear head coverings (with no exception for religious articles like hijabs) in school buildings. I could be mistaken, but I remember thinking that was extreme to the point of racist policy.

I am not surprised. Currently, France’s democracy is being challenged by its current government. They also tried to outlaw filming the police in 2020 (luckily the law didn’t pass). Recently, they constantly used special laws to pass their laws even if they don’t have majority in parliament (especially their retirement law even if 70% of the population and 90% of the workers didn’t want this law to pass). They are trying to push a biometric mass surveillance law for the 2024 Olympics. The way the government has been dealing with the recent protests has been heavily criticized by Amnesty International. Police violence has been over the top (the Saint-Soline water protest was literally a war zone) and countless unlawful arrests including unjustified police custody have been done.

It’s a real shit show.