Why ban the burqa? (part 2)

There are over 4 million Muslims in France, yet according to the government, fewer than 2,000 Muslim women actually wear the niqab or burqa. So why the need for a law? How far will or should the ban go? Why now? Why now in France, and in several neighbouring countries? To critics who accuse the government of pandering to the far-right and stigmatising Muslims, the justice minister responds that it has nothing to do with religion.