A political battle is shaping up in France over whether fully-veiled Muslim women should be banned from appearing on the street or in any other public settings, a proposal already endorsed by many of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s rightwing allies. Sarkozy has said the head-to-toe garment is unwelcome on French soil. The leader of his party…
Northern UMP deputy member Françoise Hostalier has proposed a similar legislation against headscarves in the National Assembly to the 2004 prohibition of conspicuous religious signs in public schools. Hostalier’s request comes in the wake of students who “provocatively” wore hijabs in the National Assembly in a recent visit. On November 19 in response to protest…
Two French police intelligence agencies have issued reports calling burqa use in the country a “marginal phenomenon,” one of which claimed fewer than 400 women wear the full-body covering. The wearing of burqas has been a controversial issue in France. French legislators have pondered banning the use of burqas and niqabs, full-face veils that ,unlike…
This Le Figaro interview features Jacques Myard, member of the National Assembly (UMP) who represents the Yvelines department, and Mohammed Moussaoui, president of the CFCM (the French Council of the Muslim Faith). The former expresses the necessity to ban burqas in France to protect the status of women, while the latter claims that such a…
PARIS (AFP) – The French National Assembly early Thursday passed a watered-down version of a controversial measure opening the way to DNA testing of would-be immigrants wanting to join their families. The lower house of parliament also adopted the principal measure in a government bill tightening the rules for immigrants: an evaluation in the candidates’…
