BURQA BAN DEBATE IN FRANCE

A French parliamentary commission’s proposal to ban full Islamic veils such as the burqa and the niqab from public places has roused heated debate, and efforts to hammer out a compromise are gathering speed. The head of the commission said the next step should be a law imposing the ban, but many lawmakers and activists have voiced scepticism at the prospect of police forcing women to lift their veils. The possibility of a ban has dominated public debate for months and caused a rift within President Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party. Jean-Francois Cope, the UMP’s parliamentary leader who has an eye on the 2017 presidential race, has been the most vocal defender of a broad ban. Critics say such a ban could be challenged on human rights and religious freedom grounds. Gerin recommended a more selective ban applying only to public buildings and schools, where veiled mothers picking up their children could be hard to identify.