UMP party to present bill banning burqas in public places

Sarkozy's UMP party has announced plans to introduce a bill to ban full Islamic veils in all public areas in France. Talk of a ban has stirred a heated debate in France and could present the government with legal difficulties.

By Rebecca BOWRING (video)
News Wires (text)

REUTERS - France's ruling UMP party plans to present a bill to parliament in January on banning full Islamic veils in all public places and not just in certain buildings, a senior party official said on Tuesday.

The bill would be accompanied by a resolution related to respect for women, Jean-Francois Cope, the parliamentary party leader of President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP, told a news conference.

Both propositions would be handed to parliament during the first two weeks of January, before the conclusions of a French parliamentary inquiry into the all-covering niqab and burqa are published.

France has been moving towards outlawing full Islamic veils in certain public buildings and had appeared to stop short of a broader ban that could violate religious freedom and deepen a rift in the government.

Most politicians are waiting for the results of the parliamentary inquiry before deciding on the need for a law.

A complete ban could meet with legal obstacles. Switzerland's ban on minarets, for example, has been challenged before the European Court of Human Rights.

The French government is already facing internal dissent over a campaign to discuss national identity that has attracted accusations of racism, and a burqa law could be a difficult sell.

RELIGION

President Sarkozy says 'no place' for burqa in secular France

Date created : 22/12/2009

Comments (11)

Full veil ban

by Anonyme - 04/02/2010 - 15:02

Each country has a right to take decisions based on its own cultural values as long as it does not cause physical injury to its citizens, residents or visitors.

In at least one Middle Eastern country all women cannot drive an automobile.

In one Far Eastern country if you convert to any other religion you have to defend your action in front of authorities. If you are converting from other religions to their official religion you do not need to defend your action in front of authorities.

If Europeans do not defend their culture, do you expect the immigrants to protect the European culture?

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France Burqa (veil) issue:

by Anonyme - 24/01/2010 - 07:32

Nations are made from babies, I remember a snapshot from a French TV ad printed in some newspaper, with my little ability to undestsnd French, it said- you do not have a baby in your home, don't you have a sexy female in your home.

A human male in nature can not be made resposible to father a child for which he is not sure being of him. A man has to be confident that his female only attracts him and no one else, the women veil is one of the ways to provide that assurance.

The societies who do not have Women veil have greater ratio of fatherless children; being named after their mothers, deprived of father and mother love in one home.

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Banning of peoples rights

by Anonyme - 03/01/2010 - 23:07

I always enjoy when France brags about its free liberal society. Here in the US where we lost thousands on Sept.11,2001 we never banned religious freedom of any kind.If France hadnt raped there former colonies of there riches they wouldnt have problems today.Like the British , France deserves everything it gets as payback for there fascist colonial days.

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Very Late

by Anonyme - 01/01/2010 - 08:43

The French people should have done this long time ago. The law comes too late but there is still a chance for the French to take care of business.

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Burqa

by Anonyme - 30/12/2009 - 01:40

who wants to see a woman wrapped up like a package with only her eyes seen through a slit. No man would allow himself walk around like this for fear of looking like an idiot. This is 2010 not 1901

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No Place for Burqa

by Anonyme - 29/12/2009 - 21:42

What about the rights of men who wish to keep secret their beating of wives/daughters?

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New law

by Anonyme - 27/12/2009 - 16:32

I think French people should be allowed to live in the kind of country that they feel comfortable in.

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burqa

by Anonyme - 26/12/2009 - 05:49

Sarkazy, a descendant of immigrants, is trying to appear more French than French and appeal to right wing sentiments by stepping on French Muslim women's right to wear the burqa. His cynical move is pityful.