be the third 'F' — and this is indeed what is beginning to happen."

French officials have been especially vocal in their criticism of European brands that cater to Muslim women. France banned the burka in 2011. The European Court of Human Rights upheld that ban in 2014.

France's Minister of Families, Children and Women's Rights, Laurence Rossignol, said Islamic fashion was being promoted in Europe by Muslim activists and Salafists seeking to impose political Islam on everyone else. In a March 30 interview with RMC Radio-BFMTV, Rossignol said:

"What is at stake is social control over the bodies of women. When European brands invest in the lucrative Islamic fashion market, they are shirking their responsibilities and are promoting a situation where Muslim women are forced to wear garments that imprisonFrance-Presse, Rossignol said: "Apart from the error of language, I would not retract a single word of what I said regarding Islamic clothing."

Responding to Rossignol, the director of the Observatory Against Islamophobia, Abdallah Zekri, asked: "Does a minister have the right to meddle in the way a woman wishes to dress as long as she respects the laws of the French Republic and does not hide her face?"

In an interview on RMC radio, former French Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet was asked her opinion about the growing popularity of Islamic fashion. She responded:

"I do not like it. Islamic clothing is all about hiding the female body, and also a part of the individual. For me it is the opposite of fashion. For me, fashion is the expression of originality,