Marine Le Pen cancels meeting with Lebanon's grand mufti over headscarf demand
France's far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has refused to go into a meeting with Lebanon's grand mufti after his aides asked her to wear a headscarf.
Ms Le Pen is on a three-day visit to Lebanon this week and has met senior officials.
She was scheduled to meet Grand Sunni Muslim Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian this morning.
Shortly after she arrived at his office, one of his aides tried to give her a headscarf to put on but she refused.
Ms Le Pen said she had met in the past with the grand mufti of Egypt's Al-Azhar, one of the world's top Sunni clerics, without wearing a veil.
She met Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb in 2015 and photos of the meeting show her with the cleric without wearing a veil.
Once she was told that customs are different in Lebanon, Ms Le Pen walked toward her car and left.
The mufti's office issued a statement saying Ms Le Pen was told in advance through one of her aides that she would have to put on a headscarf during the meeting.
"This is the protocol," the statement said.
"The mufti's office regrets this inappropriate behaviour in such meetings."
- AP
