12 November 2009 - 19H39
President Sarkozy says 'no place' for burqa in secular France
In a major speech Thursday about what it means to be French, President Nicolas Sarkozy said that the burqa and the "subservience of women" had no place in secular France. France has one of Europe's largest Muslim populations.
By News Wires (text)
AFP - President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday again insisted that the head-to-toe veil worn by some Muslim women had no place in secular France.
"France is a country where there is no place for the burka, where there is no place for the subservience of women," he said in a major speech on French national identity.
France, home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority, has set up a special panel of 32 lawmakers to consider whether a law should be enacted to bar Muslim women from wearing the full veil, known as a burka or niqab.
The country has had a long-running debate on how far it is willing to go to accommodate Islam without undermining the tradition of separating church and state, enshrined in a flagship 1905 law.
In 2004, it passed a law banning headscarves or any other "conspicuous" religious symbols in state schools to defend secularism.
Sarkozy in June said the burka was not a symbol of religious faith but a sign of women's "subservience" and declared that the full veil was "not welcome" here.
He was speaking Thursday in the Alpine town of La Chapelle en Vercors in his first intervention in a countrywide debate launched last month on what it means to be French.
Public meetings are due to take place in some 450 government offices around the country, involving campaigners, students, parents and teachers, unions, business leaders and French and European lawmakers.
The debate will end with a conference early next year on the twin questions of "what it means to be French today" and "what immigration contributes to our national identity."
The Socialist opposition has accused the government of pandering to anti-immigrant sentiment to shore up support on the right ahead of regional elections in March.
It has warned the debate risks alienating France's large communities of immigrant descent.
But Sarkozy said Thursday that "this is a noble debate" and that "those who do not want this debate are afraid of it."
Sarkozy made national identity a key campaign theme when he was running for the presidency in 2007.
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Comments
BRAVO
C' EST VRAI!
Burka
Thank you for think to women are " not more men slaves", your mexican reader.
Araceli Cordonnier
did Sarkozy mention anything
did Sarkozy mention anything about nudity in france!! or just talked about covered decent women?!!
.
Good job Sarkozy :)
Human Right
what is the definition of human right?......french is the symbol of taking care of human rights in the world but now they are trying to cease rights from human!!!.....Burqa is not a word from Islam which used by general people...In Islam, the veil which is to cover up the body of men and women in public places, and especially for women to cover up their face, body and head when the go outside to avoid possible hostile environments. I can say that Muslim women have the right to obey their freedom as non-Muslim women do.
Burqa
Women foought for the rights to vote, have a say in things etc. If Muslim women wish to wear the burqa then they should do so and not let anyone tell them if they can or not. If France is there home and that is where they belong then let them be. I am half french/English myself and have lived in France in the past and the wonderful thing about France is that we have so many different nationalities and cultures of whom all mix together and live in harmony to a certain extent. If you take away the burqa from muslim women they will feel like that a part of them has been stripped away. Which isn't fair.
So all in all I think Muslim women should choose by themselves whether or not they want to wear the Burqa and not have President N.Sarkozy tell them what to do or wear. After all is Nicolas Sarkozy a real french a %100 I think not...
Burqa
It is interesting that the socialists are suporting the subjection of women at a time when the European Union has said you cannot hang a cross in a classroom in Italy. Why is it politically correct to challange the Church that is so much a part of our heritage but we cannot challange the Burqa or other foreign values that may clash with European culture. Practing your own religion is one thing but cultural differences that are not really reigious are another thing. Even in some Arab countries women do not dress like this. This is not religion but a cultural attack on women. If we do not allow slaves then why are we allowing women to become slaves, and why do the socialists of all people defend this behavior?
Secular!!!
if its a really secular state then people from every religion should have the full rights to practice their religions(That also include rights to act according to their believes,off course without causing any harms to others) without any restrictions. Dear Mr. President probably means a state without any religion, not a secular state. Think he is doing the same mistake like some of the Leaders of the Islamic state do. They are scared of secularism as they fear secular state means a state without any religion!!But it certainly not the case. Its a manipulation of the definition of "secular state" which is being used politically.
Burqa
I can only applaud that we've a country in Europe who dares to go this way. I applaud the decision ... now let's see how this works out in practical reality.
Burqa
how France can be secular if government force not to wear veil of Muslim women?..let Muslim women to choose whether they want to wear it or not...we can not confiscate one's right of freedom...the decision shows the discrimination of human right.
burka or not?
i share the same views as french president Sarkozy, in moslim countries it may have a place but not in france... i really beleive that women wear it as a cover up for something..
i heard one time on TV a moslim woman saying to the press: i am more moslim than FRENCH.. well i hope that someone is keeping an close eye on that woman..!
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