Thousands of athletes, including some wearing hijabs, are arriving for the Paris Olympics, highlighting tensions in France over national identity and perceived discrimination against Muslims. Sylla, part of France’s 400 metres relay team, posted on Instagram that her hijab would prevent her from appearing in Friday’s opening ceremony along the Seine River. The hijab is a head covering worn by many Muslim women. France, home to Europe’s largest Muslim minority, enforces laws to protect the principle of secularism, which prohibits state employees and school pupils from wearing religious symbols and clothing in public institutions. Rights groups argue that these rules effectively discriminate against Muslims.

The French government and Olympics officials have said they are willing to find a solution for Sylla, but it remains unclear what that could be. Amelia Oudea-Castera, minister for sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said that Sylla “understands our principles, our rules.” Foreign athletes are not affected by the secularism rules. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not have rules against wearing religious head coverings. Maria Hurtado, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for human rights, criticized the French government in September last year over its stance on the hijab for French athletes during the Olympic Games.