To think this is fucking crazy

Yes, this is exactly what I meant. I thought that was clear. Evidently not.

Exactly! What price do you put on your principles OP?

This is one of very few examples when virtue-signalling comes at a price, if you want to cancel. (Usually virtue-signalling is cost-free or even beneficial).

They were civil and we were also civil. The guy didnt make a big deal out of it- he explained the men were forbidden to share a pool with women, we said OK, as we were confused the first day.
If it was inconvenient, then no one would be bending backwards, and they were the ones not using the pool and not pushing on us not to use it.The dad knew they were limiting themselves and admitted that they calculate this as a risk. We were often out on trips anyways and they were fine using it when we were out and then not using it one most people were around, so it was not a big effort. At the end of the day everyone had a good holiday.

To be clear, he is saying it is the displaying of religious convictions that makes others uncomfortable.

It doesn't make it right, but what he meant is not as strong as the google translate suggests with the word "resented".

There is a lot of tension in France around religious dress and symbolism which is banned in public life as part of the policy of 'laïcité' (secularism) which is tied into the 'egalité' (equality) element of the French constitution. It's very strongly felt in France and I think unless you understand the culture around it, it's difficult to accept that people think it's ok to hold and express views like the Airbnb owner's

Sorry but this is cobblers. The tension is around race - cultural dress is simply a stick to beat the ethnic population with.

If France really cared about égalité it could publish the number of ethnic citizens who die in police custody.

I think perspective wouldn’t go amiss here.

You’ve booked a holiday where face coverings are banned. The B&B owner doesn’t want the fine/hassle of having guests who are potentially breaking the law.

You’ve raised a concern about shared public spaces, he’s checking that it’s not for religious reasons, and there isn’t going to be a potential problem.

Stick to your plan, go on holiday and enjoy yourself. Don’t be arsey with him, even if you disagree with his views/his country’s laws, as you’ll be sharing a pool, so it’ll be easier to be cordial.

I love the Dordogne but whenever I've been, it's really not very diverse. I think the rural population of anywhere in the world can be a bit wary of "otherness". I've been to small rural villages in the UK. The local population can be mistrustful of who they consider to be outsiders/someone who is very different to themselves. Racist, in other words. DH said he was packing up the car to go home once in a village in Cornwall. A local strolling past stopped to chat and seemed a nice fella, talking about the area. Then he just casually made a racist comment, something like "as long as those darkies stay away". DH was so shocked he didn't say anything, then kicked himself a few minutes later when the man had gone.

Living in a city, I just don't understand the attitudes. Maybe it's a fear of others wanting to do things differently to the "accepted", traditional way that they're familiar with.

That's because the hijab doesn't cover you face 🙄

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ban_on_face_covering#:~:text=This%20ban%20does%20not%20apply,face%20veils%20in%20public%20areas.

Why? It was them who wouldn't share a pool with women, you should have let them get on with it and enjoyed the pool whenever you felt like it. And enjoyed the uncrowded experience.

Nuns absolutely can go out in public in their habits.

The translation is not great... "très mal ressentie" could also be translated in the sense of "making others uncomfortable". The verb "resent" in English is much stronger than the landlord probably intends, basically it is not the best translation.

Putting that aside, the response was spiky and I would not like it even with "uncomfortable" instead of "resented". And, is he a moron? You could easily be both English and Muslim, as he surely surely knows, in a country with a sizable population of French-Muslims.

Exactly. There were women in hijab refereeing different sport during the Olympics in public with no issue.

The French are quite racist. I say this as a mixed race person who’s part French.

Well, being naked would not avoid open religious symbolism if any of the males are circumcised

I presume like a few other people has said that he has a very unpleasant time with some of the previous guests.

We once shared a pool with a few families, one of them were Turkish- the dad refused to be in the pool and would not allowed his teenage sons be in the water if any women were in the pool. The thing was, they would leave the pool instead of expecting everyone else not to use it though, so we ended up having a schedule when their family was using it for themselves.
Maybe his guests were a pain in the ass and the owner had to ask them to leave, and now all Muslim guests are tarred with the same brush.

I've only read through the OP's posts, so sorry if this has already been said 20 times but if you're staying with AIrBnB, then the owner's don't yet have the money, AirBnB will be holding it. In my experience, AirBnB are vey accommodating and it's not difficult to get your money back if you phone them

His text is alarming and sadly the google translation is very accurate (I speak fluent French).

This paragraph is awful!

Nous ne souhaitons pas que vous effectuiez le déplacement et vous voir voir refuser l'accès à notre propriété pour des raisons d'affichage de convictions religieuses très mal ressenties par le voisinage.

We do not want you to arrive here and then find yourselves refused access to our property as you are displaying items of religious conviction which are viewed very badly by our neighbors/the locals.

He is careful to not say he views them badly but let’s face it he would be the one refusing access on the basis of (certain) signs of religious observation.

If it was via a booking platform I would lodge a complaint and report him.

Would be interesting to know whether if a guest turned up wearing a head covering if he would reimburse their holiday on the spot after « after illegally refusing them access to the property.

Note he does not say they would be refused access to the (shared) pool but the property.

His comment asking if you are « English or Muslim » is also highly racist. And has strong far right overtones for me. As he clearly considers anyone Muslim could not be English!

Totally not the point though is it.. the point now is that the owner is coming across as awfully racist and they're not sure whether they want to go! Might not have occurred to them to ask any earlier, either way, sharing the pool isn't the problem!

Hey guys, guess what! Things are different in other countries, not everyone behaves like we do in this country.

This is highly sensitive issue in France due to the importance of the laïcité laws which apply to everyone, the large and quite poorly integrated Muslim population and the number of Islamist acts of violence that have been committed there over the last decade and yes, there are some less tolerant views in parts of France outside Paris.

You are not going to solve any of these problems by your overweening sense of self-righteousness, why not just enjoy the holiday you have paid for and perhaps meet and talk with people who have a different perspective than you, even if you don't agree with them.

Perhaps avoid France for holidays in future,

Agree with this response. I don't think you have much option now but to go there or lose your money and holiday.
What a horrible racist though!

What? Another racist post

All conspicuous religious symbols are banned in France. It's not just the burkha Catholic nuns can't wear their habits in public either.

The burqa (not hijab) is only banned in public places in France.

An Airbnb is not a public place. It is a private property.

This isn't about the Airbnb owner being afraid of breaking the law. It's about racism, pure and simple.

They have a weird attitude to authority in that they are more hierarchical than the UK (you have to email the right person at the right level of a company for them to pass the message up/down) but also much less respectful of authority/tolerant of people lording it over them (Les revolution). Hence, for example, someone might chat every day to the dentist receptionist in the street but find them behaving icy to the point of rudeness when they are at the dentist trying to book an appointment. "I am not your slave" being the basic attitude for anything customer service related. The opposite of Americans really.

But while that explains the tone of the email, it also implies some racism. You get that attitude from some UK people to but they would be much more roundabout about it. I would still go though. But I wouldn't reply. I would leave them wondering till you show up.