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Marine Le Pen Cancels Lebanon Meeting Over Headscarf

French presidential candidate refused to meet with Lebanon’s grand mufti.

French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, who represents the far-right National Front, canceled a meeting in Lebanon on Tuesday over a headscarf. “You can pass on my respects to the grand mufti, but I will not cover myself up,” she said. Le Pen bailed on the encounter with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, the nation’s top cleric for Sunni Muslims, over the requirement. She is using a visit to Lebanon to reportedly enhance her foreign-policy experience before the first round of votes in the French presidential race in April. Le Pen had been informed beforehand about the requirement and thus surprised the cleric’s press office with her refusal. Currently, French laws ban headscarves for high-school students and in public posts. Le Pen hopes to extend the ban to more areas.