Manuel Ausloos and Juliette Jabkhiro

PARIS (Reuters) – Since Lisa Troadec converted from Islam to Islam and started to wear a hijab nearly a decade ago in France, Troadec has endured verbal abuse, stares and even being tripped across the street. If Marine Le Pen is elected president, she fears that the feeling of isolation will grow.

Troadec stated that Le Pen’s insistent on banning Muslim women wearing the Islamic head scarf in public places would be discriminatory against the large majority of Muslims who follow France’s strict secular values.

Troadec said that he is “genuinely afraid” Le Pen will win. He runs a Paris-based childcare centre. “I don’t know what my life will look like if it happens.”

To keep Le Pen away from power, she will vote to support Macron but not willingly. She has been deeply disillusioned by the record of President Macron on Islam, and is convinced that antiMuslim sentiment in France is growing.

Data backs her feelings. Interior Ministry data shows a marked increase in anti Muslim discriminatory and other acts by 2021, while other faiths experienced a decrease.

She describes her vote for Macron or Le Pen as voting as a president

“A choice between Islamophobia & Islamophobia”

Macron stated that he will continue to fight what he called “Islamist Separatism” as well as defend French secularism which, he claims, allows all citizens freedom of religion. Macron says that he opposes the ban on religious symbols being banned from public spaces.

Le Pen is determined to make the hijab illegal in public places, and not other religious symbols like the Jewish kippa. Le Pen promises to combat “Islamist ideologies”, which she describes as “totalitarian”.

The Macron government passed several laws over the last five years that it claims are designed to combat religious extremism as well as preserve secular national values. However, it left Troadec and many other Muslims feeling like Islamophobia was on the increase.

Troadec’s friend Sherazade Rouibah (23), said that she thought Macron’s offers to Muslim voters in the first round of voting were cynical.

Macron felicitated a Strasbourg-based young Muslim woman wearing the hijab last week for being a feminist.

It’s as if you’ve been fighting us (…) five years, and now you want to vote for our cause. Rouibah laughed, “And the worst part is that we are actually going to vote him because Le Pen has been worse than him.”

LACK of TRUST

According to polls, a Le Pen victory on Sunday seems unlikely but is possible. Macron won with 66.1% the vote in 2017, as both Le Pen and Macron faced off.

Muslims are not likely to vote in a single bloc for Macron, but that’s certain. Some will vote for Le Pen and others may vote against Macron if they believe that Macron is an “president” of the wealthy and has taken right-wing economic policies.

Troadec stated that “there are people who will vote in her favor and who believe so.”

Hedi Baiben (42), a Muslim worshipper in Villeurbanne in the south-east city of Lyon said that many would have difficulty stomaching voting for Macron even though he believes it is the right choice.

Baiben said that it was difficult for Muslims to trust people these days as he directed the delivery and cooking of food to low-income students during Ramadan.

Azzedine, the rector at the Villeurbanne mosque Azzedine Gacci said that he and other Muslim leaders in their community were encouraging the congregation to vote for Macron during the second round. This was in order to protect France’s religious freedoms.

Le Pen called Le Pen’s manifesto “a project calling to hatred of Muslims and for the closing of Mosques, and that talks about Muslims all night and every day.”

Macron’s vote was not to support him, he stated, but rather one that would prevent the far right from gaining power.

Le Pen couldn’t be reached immediately to comment on his campaign.