- French debate: outlaw hair discrimination; conservatives oppose American influence
- Proposed law: forbids hair discrimination; backed by Macron’s party
- Inspired by US Crown Act; addresses racial bias; advocates progress
The party of Emmanuel Macron supports the draft law, but conservatives oppose it on the grounds that it attempts to import American concepts of race.
The French political class is currently debating a measure that would outlaw hair discrimination.
The proposed legislation would expand upon current policies by expressly prohibiting discrimination based on hair texture, length, colour, or style, with no preference for individuals with curly, coiled, or nonexistent hair.
Advocated for, it would designate France as the inaugural nation globally to officially acknowledge hair discrimination on a national level, according to Guadeloupe, a French Caribbean islander and politician Olivier Serva.
“This is a genuine injustice that certain populations endure; it is not a community whim,” the bill’s proposer, Mr. Serva, wrote on X.
It is imprudent to downplay this suffering by asserting that alternative concerns take precedence, particularly in light of the recent parliamentary approval of reprehensible and vile legislation.
Members of the Renaissance Party, which President Emmanuel Macron leads, support the bill in draft form. However, it has encountered opposition from far-right and conservative politicians who perceive it as an attempt to import American concepts of race.
Twenty-four states in the United States have thus far enacted legislation bearing the same name, the Crown Act (creating a respectful and open world for natural hair), which prohibits hair discrimination on the basis of race in employment, housing, institutions, and the armed forces.
In 2022, the legislation completed its passage in the House of Representatives. However, it encountered opposition in the Senate, where Republicans argued that it was superfluous and that numerous federal statutes already provide safeguards against hair discrimination.
Although the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament, is poised to debate a proposal that does not explicitly address race-based discrimination, it is widely speculated that this was the primary impetus behind the legislation.
Estelle Vallois, a consultant for 43 years, stated, “It’s about time,” as she had her short, coiled hair trimmed in a salon in Paris.
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“Today, we are going even further towards taking down these barriers of discrimination.”
France abstains from the collection of official race data due to its adherence to the universalism paradigm, which rejects the differentiation of citizens based on ethnic affiliation.
While the measurement of race-based hair discrimination is complicated, proponents of the law hope it resolves the challenges faced by black French citizens in accepting and embracing their natural hair.
An air steward of African descent from France filed a lawsuit against Air France after being denied boarding due to his braids and forced to don a straight-hair wig.
Aboubakar Traore emerged victorious in 2022 following a legal dispute spanning a decade. However, the court determined that the incident did not constitute hair discrimination but rather gender discrimination, as it permitted his female counterparts to wear braids.
