In March, a French woman wearing the hijab applied for a job at a lingerie shop, Etam, in the southern city of Montpellier.
The woman, Oumaima, claimed her application was rejected because the manager told her veiled women would not be accepted.
In a video posted on Twitter that has been viewed more than 240,000 times, Oumaima said she was a victim of racism and called for a boycott of the brand as she explained "how difficult it is to live, study, and work with a hijab in France".
Etam reacted quickly, issuing a statement on the same day saying the incident "does not reflect its values".
The manager was sacked and Etam called Oumaima to apologise.
The incident highlighted a frequent debate in French politics and society: Can French Muslims ever be just French?
Following the 2015 attacks in Paris, in which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant armed group (ISIL or ISIS) killed 130 people in three incidents, Islamophobic sentiment has increased, said Nadiya Lazzouni, a freelance journalist who is behind the Speak Up Channel.
"The belief that Islam cannot be a part of France's Republic or that the French Muslim is a disguised enemy from within the country has definitely spread across the country," she told Al Jazeera. [Al Jazeera English] Read more
