French election: Macron and Le Pen clash in TV presidential debate

She then spoke about another of her key policies, banning the wearing of the headscarf in public, arguing that women had to be liberated from “Islamist pressure”. Mr Macron objected that it was wrong to mix Islam with Islamism. Her policy, he said, would lead to “civil war” and was a betrayal of French values: “You would have police running down the street after girls in headscarves and [Jewish] boys wearing the kippah.” It was intolerant and she was pushing millions of compatriots out of the public space on account of their religion, he said.