French women may face Islamic dress ban

France could bar Muslim women from wearing full veils in public, a government minister said yesterday as parliament took action over concerns about an increase in women who are wearing the niqab and burka in big cities.

The latest controversy over dress habits among France’s six million Muslims follows public differences this month between Presidents Obama and Sarkozy over the merits of legislating on religious clothing.

A group of 58 MPs from the Left and Right called on Wednesday for parliament to react to the phenomenon of women who are adopting what they called oppressive head-to-toe Islamic dress that “breaches individual freedoms”.



Luc Chatel, the Industry Minister and government spokesman, supported the MPs. “If it were determined that wearing the burka is a submissive act, and that it is contrary to republican principles, naturally parliament would have to draw the necessary conclusions,” he said.

Asked whether that would mean legislation, he replied: “Why not?”

The new debate over Muslim dress is reviving passions that surrounded France’s 2004 law banning religious headcover in state schools. André Gerin, a Communist MP, led the motion for an inquiry, calling the burka and niqab “a moving prison” for women.