France is one step closer to banning discrimination in the workplace because of hairstyle.
The Assembly adopted the law and now it will be debated in the Senate.
Employees will no longer have to straighten Afro-curls, or cover dreadlocks or braids.
It is believed that such employees, mostly blacks, will be protected from unpleasantness in the workplace.
Although the law is not only about racial discrimination, that was its primary purpose.
It is also intended to protect those who are blonde, red or bald from all "prejudices related to hair".
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The bill was submitted by Olivier Serva, a member of the French parliament from the Caribbean island of Guadalupe, citing research from America.
According to that survey, a quarter of black women believe they didn't get a job because of the hairstyle they wore at a job interview.
"People who do not fit Eurocentric standards face discrimination, stereotypes and prejudices," Serva pointed out.
Anti-racism fighters say it is problematic that the law does not contain the word 'racism', considering that many famous people have experienced discomfort on social networks because of the natural look of their hair.
Black people are the main target, they believe.
"To link this only to disparagement based on hairstyle, means to mask the deeper problems of black women who are the target of discrimination because of their hair," said anthropologist Daphine Bedinand for the newspaper Mond.
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A journalist from Guadeloupe, Julien Conque, who worked for French television on the Caribbean island, said she was told she had to straighten her hair if she wanted to look professional.
"During 2015, I decided to wear my hair natural again. I wasn't used to her, she was strange to me," she told France International Radio.
The audience didn't get used to her natural release either.
"They were staring at me and texting me that I didn't look attractive, asking me why I was doing it.
"I was under a lot of pressure," she added.
After ten years of litigation, a court ruled in 2022 that Abubakar Traore, a black Air France crew member, has the right to wear braids at work,
Based on gender equality, the court gave the same right to his female colleagues,
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