French President Emmanuel Macron attacked his rival Marine Le Pen over her plan to ban Muslim women from wearing hijab in public amid French elections.
During his visit to the eastern city of Strasbourg on Tuesday, Macron asked a veiled woman if she was wearing the veil by choice or obligation.
"It's by choice. Totally by choice!" said the woman, who proudly declared she was a feminist.
"This is the best response to the rubbish that I have been hearing," Macron replied, referring to Le Pen's plan:
In her remarks, Le Pen stated that wearing the Islamic veil in public in France should be an offense punishable by a fine issued by the police, like a traffic infraction.
"The headscarf has been imposed by Islamists," Le Pen told BFM TV in an interview on Friday describing it as a "uniform".
During a visit to the town of Pertuis in the south of France, Le Pen found herself cornered by a Muslim woman wearing a hijab.
The candidate claimed that in "some areas" in France, women who do not wear the headscarf are "isolated and judged".
"It's not true. It's not true," the woman said, laughing incredulously and saying her father had fought for France in the army for 15 years.
After further argument, Le Pen then waved cheerily and breezily ended the exchange.
Even within her own camp, the hardline stance has caused controversy.
"It's an error," said Robert Menard, mayor of the town of Beziers and a supporter of Le Pen in the second round. "It's not possible to put in place."
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