Conservative French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen canceled a meeting with top Muslim cleric in Lebanon, after refusing to wear a veil. Le Pen attributed France's ideals as her reasoning for not wanting to wear a headscarf to the meeting. In 2011, the country banned full face coverings, such as burqas and niqabs, from public spaces. Since 2004, Islamic symbols and other religious symbols have been banned from schools. Before arriving to the meeting, Le Pen was surprised to be greeted at the door with a headscarf. “I personally greeted her at the door of the Edict House and wanted to hand her a white headscarf that was in my hand, she refused to take it," the spokesman for the Grand Mufti Khaldoun Awas said, CNN reported.
