In a shocking incident that has sent ripples of outrage across the city, a woman was beaten on the streets of Paris for not wearing a hijab. The incident took place in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, a neighborhood with a high Muslim population, in the early hours of Thursday morning when the victim, identified as 25-year-old Marie Dupont, was walking home alone from a friend's house.

According to eyewitnesses, a group of men confronted Dupont and demanded to know why she was not wearing a hijab. When she replied that she did not believe in wearing one, the men began to taunt her and call her a "whore". The situation quickly escalated as the men began to physically assault her, leaving her with bruises and cuts all over her body.

Speaking to a French newspaper, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo condemned the attack and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. "This kind of behavior is unacceptable and deeply disturbing. We must work together as a society to ensure that everyone feels safe and respected in our city," she said.

France has a long-standing controversy over the wearing of the hijab and other religious symbols in public places. In 2010, the French parliament passed a law banning the wearing of full-face veils in public, a move that was widely criticized by human rights groups as an infringement on religious freedom.