It was an advertisement that did not go unnoticed. In Nantes, an imposing poster depicting a veiled woman celebrating Women’s Month caused a controversy. As 20 Minutes reports, the Islamic veil, which is supposed to represent the “faces of Nantes women” and is displayed next to the logo of the socialist city, disturbed members of parliament and citizens. “Promoting the veil is a political mistake, an attack on secularism,” complained in particular Laurence Garnier, the LR leader of the opposition in Nantes. The Women’s Month project initiated by “Visages des Nantaises” would have proposed a photo exhibition in which 50 female residents of the city would speak out in defence of women’s rights. However, the project, which had requested financial support, would not have been accepted by the city of Nantes, according to first deputy Bassem Asseh.
As for the poster itself, it was quickly removed by the municipality after the controversy over the veiled woman escalated. According to the city, the poster was the result of an “internal error of a technical nature”. Bassem Asseh defended himself: “Until we better understand how this mistake could have happened, we don’t have to listen to any lectures on secularism, and certainly not from MPs who supported Manif pour tous”.
Has the whole world gone insane?