Muslim women in France
Photo: AFP
150 euro fine (archives)
Photo: AP
French face veil ban passes last legislative hurdle
'Full face veil dissolves people's identity,' justice minister says before 246-1 vote, 'It challenges French model of integration.' Law still has to be examined by Constitutional Council
France's proposed ban on full face veils in public cleared its last legislative hurdle on Tuesday when the Senate approved a bill outlawing the garments.
The law has already been passed by the National Assembly but still has to be vetted by the Constitutional Council, France's highest constitutional authority. It would make France the first European country to outlaw the burqa or niqab.
Muslim Headscarves
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Offenders would be fined 150 euros ($189) or required to take part in a citizenship class.
"The full face veil dissolves the identity of a person in that of a community," Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said before the 246-1 vote. "It challenges the French model of integration based on the acceptance of the values of our society." Most opposition senators abstained in protest.
Alliot-Marie said the ban had nothing to do with religion. It reaffirmed the French values of equality and dignity of all individuals and would prevent women from simply becoming faceless members of a larger ethnic community.
France's five-million-strong Muslim minority is Western Europe's largest, but fewer than 2,000 women are believed actually to wear a full face veil. Many Muslim leaders have said they support neither the veil nor the law banning it.
'Threat to public security'
The bill, which critics say stigmatizes Muslims, bans people "from wearing, in a public place, garments designed to cover the face." It is due to take effect after a six-month period aimed at informing veiled women about the law.
Forcing someone to cover the face would be punishable by a one-year prison sentence and a 30,000 euro fine. The law does not apply for carnivals or artistic events.
The ban's backers say burqas, which cover the body from head to toe, and niqabs, which leave only the eyes uncovered, demean women and are a threat to public security.
The Council of State, France's top legal advisory body, has questioned whether a ban is compatible with the constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. The Council of Europe has also said veil bans deny women a basic right.
France had already banned the wearing of Muslim headscarves in schools and the civil service, although female university students may wear them.
Movements to ban the garments have gained ground across Europe. Polls in Italy, Spain, Germany and Britain have indicated widespread support.
The Belgian lower house of parliament voted in April to ban all clothing that covers or partially covers the face, but it was dissolved before a final vote could be taken.
Spain, where some towns, including Barcelona, prohibit full face veils in public buildings, is considering a national ban while a coalition ally of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is pushing for legislation to outlaw them in Italy.
The French National Assembly voted 335-1 for the ban, with opposition Socialist and Green lawmakers also abstaining.
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