Jordan Bardella, the favourite to become France's next Prime Minister, has declared that the Islamic veil has become a "political weapon" for extremists to suppress women. In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Express at the Reform UK conference, the National Rally president warned that fundamentalists are forcing women and girls to wear head coverings "just to walk freely in public spaces".
Mr Bardella also admitted that France's benefits system has acted as a "magnet" for migrants, leading to fears of a culture crisis. He told the Reform UK conference that many in London and Paris see their homes' "identity changing and their way of life being replaced by foreign ways of life that are sometimes incompatible with our values".
Veil ban and immigration concerns
Marine Le Pen has vowed to ban the Islamic face covering if she wins the French Presidential election in 2027. Mr Bardella told the Sunday Express: "France faces a major problem with communitarianism, linked to a massive immigration intake policy over several years.
"France grants 500,000 legal residence permits every year, and according to the Ministry of the Interior, there are 900,000 people illegally present on French soil.
"The French social system acts as a magnet for immigration today, and this state of affairs — a major concern for French citizens — has created conditions for communitarianism across many territories and the spread of Islamist ideology, which declared war on France years ago through attacks on our country.
"However, we must not confuse Islamist ideology with French people of the Muslim faith who respect our laws and values, and who are also very worried to see Islamic fundamentalism growing in our neighbourhoods.
"The Islamic veil has indeed become an instrument — a political weapon for Islamic fundamentalists — and many Muslim women in certain neighbourhoods are forced to wear a veil just to walk freely in public spaces.
"Everywhere Islamists have taken power, notably in several Eastern countries, their first measure was to impose the veil in public spaces for women.
"Today, wearing the veil is banned in schools, for instance, and we want to extend this ban to all public sphere buildings — meaning town halls, universities, and all public service facilities — because we hold a very strong principle in France, which is secularism and we must defend it."
Reform UK's stance on face coverings
Reform's Zia Yusuf has vowed to ban all face coverings in public, including the burka. Nigel Farage's home affairs spokesman said introducing legislation banning all face coverings in public would aid integration by ethnic communities and help the public feel safe.
Mr Yusuf quit as chairman of Reform last June after a dispute about the party's handling of its position on the burka. He had suggested it was "dumb" of Reform's then newest MP, Sarah Pochin, to ask Sir Keir Starmer if he would ban the burka when it was not party policy at that point.
Border control plans
National Rally has vowed to take back illegal migrants detected in the Channel if Marine Le Pen wins the next election. Mr Bardella declared that the Schengen Zone means Britain's border effectively starts at the French frontier with Italy.
The favourite to be the next French Prime Minister said Mr Farage would not need to deploy the Royal Navy to intercept dinghies carrying dozens – sometimes hundreds – of people because Marine Le Pen will overhaul immigration laws to prevent people arriving in Calais if she wins the 2027 Presidential race.
Mr Bardella said: "What I am saying is that if France protects its borders, the Royal Navy won't need to be deployed in the Channel, because there will no longer be incoming illegal migrants in the Pas-de-Calais region.
"It's very simple.
"If we want to solve the crisis - and potentially the costs associated with managing the crisis on the ground in Pas-de-Calais for the British - France must regain control of its immigration policy.
"If we come to power with Marine Le Pen, we will hold a referendum on immigration with constitutional status.
"This will reaffirm the primacy of French law over all European and international jurisprudence regarding the fight against immigration, and we will put in place the entire legal, political, administrative, and deterrent shield to prevent France from finding itself with an influx of migrants who then naturally move toward the north of the country, specifically Pas-de-Calais bound for the British coast.
"It's very simple: if France protects its borders, the Calais issue no longer exists."
