Yeah I hear you. I was just making the point of the author of the podcast. By definition liberalism would allow for the autonomy of the individual – which includes wearing an article of clothing of their choice. So if the claim is to be a liberal government but then the government doesn’t allow for the individual autonomy – at least in certain instances – then it’s really not a liberal government and closer to an authoritarian government since it is removing the autonomy of the individual by preventing them from wearing an article of clothing of their choice.
The merits of wearing and not wearing a hijab in France can be argued and you make good points. But to me, this French example of banning hijabs highlights the authors thesis of the podcast which is that no liberal government is actually truly liberal. They’re more of a “be my kind of liberal or else”. Which is actually just a form of authoritarian