Hijab-wearing French sprinter faces exclusion from Olympics opening ceremony

French government and Olympics officials are seeking a solution to allow Muslim French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla to wear her hijab at the opening ceremony while still complying with the country's secularism laws, they said on Wednesday.

This effort comes after the 26-year-old member of France's 400-metre relay team recently took to her Instagram to reveal that her hijab — a head covering worn by many Muslim women — would prevent her from appearing in Friday's blockbuster opening ceremony.

She wrote: "You are selected for the Olympic Games, organised in your country, but you can't take part in the opening ceremony because you wear a scarf on your head."

Thousands of athletes, including some who wear a hijab, are placing an international spotlight on tensions in France over national identity and perceived discrimination against Muslims, Reuters reported.

France, home to Europe's largest Muslim minority, enforces laws to protect the principle of secularism under which state employees and school pupils are banned from wearing religious symbols and clothing in public institutions.

Rights groups say these rules effectively discriminate against Muslims.

French government and Olympics officials said they were willing to find a solution for Sylla, although it remains unclear what that could be.

"Our citizens expect us to follow these principles of secularism, but we also need to be inventive about solutions to make everyone feel good," Amelia Oudea-Castera, minister for sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said on Wednesday, adding that Sylla "understands our principles, our rules".

Foreign athletes are not affected by the secularism rules.

David Lappartient, president of the French Olympic Committee, said the French Olympic team was "taking part in a public service mission and in this respect it is obliged to observe secularism".