PARIS: France`s right-dominated Senate has backed a bill to ban religious symbols, including the Muslim headscarf, in all sport competitions, professional and amateur, sparking accusations of discrimination from the left and rights advocates.

The bill still needs a majority of votes from the lower-house National Assembly to become law, but the right-leaning government has thrown its weight behind the measure.

Under France`s brand of secularism, civil servants, teachers and pupils cannot wear any obvious religious symbols such as a Christian cross, Jewish kippa, Sikh turban or Muslim headscarf, also known as a hijab.

While such a sweeping ban does not yet exist across all sports in France, several federations have already prohibited religious clothing including in football and basketball.The upper-house Senate on Tuesday evening voted 210 to 81 to ban `the wearing of any sign or outfit ostensibly showing a political or religious affiliation` in competitions at regional and national level organised by all the country`s sports federations.

The draft law also bans outfits that might `contravene` principles of French secularism in France`s swimming pools.

Junior interior minister Francois-Noel Buffet, from the right-wing Republicans (LR) party, said the `government forcefully supports` the bill, describing it as a welcome move `against separatism`.

Michel Savin, the LR senator who put forward the draft law, said `communitarian temptations` had overrun sports arenas. They were opposed by several senators on the left, who called the bill a violation of the 1905 law to protect freedom of conscience. -AFP