The National Assembly voted on Thursday at first reading a bill aimed at penalizing “
hair discrimination
”, particularly at work, despite reservations about the usefulness of this initiative. The text of the Guadeloupean deputy Olivier Serva (independent Liot group) was adopted by 44 votes to 2, before being transmitted to the Senate where its future is uncertain. It aims in particular to prevent employers from forcing their employees to straighten their hair to hide their afro cuts, or to hide their braids and dreadlocks.
“In France, discrimination based on physical appearance is already punished in theory
,” agreed MP Serva.
“But from theory to reality there is a gulf
,” he stressed, pleading to
“clarify”
a
“misunderstood or poorly understood law
. ”
Olivier Serva spoke of
“black women who feel obliged to straighten their hair”
before a job interview,
“
redheaded people
, victims of many negative prejudices”
, or “
bald men
”. The government took a
“benevolent look”
at the text, relying on
“the wisdom”
of the deputies. It has
“the merit of highlighting this type of discrimination”
, even if the law
“already allows us to fight”
against it, noted the Minister for Gender Equality Aurore Bergé.
“Militant ideology”
“Black woman from the Republic of Guinea”
,
“I am here with my braids, my wigs”
, described Macronist MP Fanta Berete.
“When I was applying for certain jobs, I was told that I had to straighten my hair
,” she testified. The text is inspired by legislation in force in several states in the United States, in particular the
“Crown Act”
promulgated in 2019 in California against hair discrimination. The left supported this text. It is a
“real, serious and political”
problem
, which
“mainly affects women”
and
“racialized people”
, underlined Insoumise Danièle Obono, denouncing, like the ecologist Sabrina Sebaihi,
“systemic racism”
.
This last term made the right bristle. In the tumult, LR Xavier Breton denounced a
“militant ideology”
,
“words which only aim to fracture our society”
. He fought the proposed law,
“talkative law”
,
“a headlong rush”
towards a
“list of discriminations”
at the risk of establishing
“a hierarchy”
. On the far right, RN Philippe Schreck called for
“not to mock or mock”
this proposed law, but questioned it.
“Are we taking care of the daily problems of the French”
, in an
“almost bankrupt”
country ?
“It would be good to quickly move on to something else
,” he demanded.