France wants to apply burqa ban to tourists-Belgium, France, move against full Islamic veil

France's government on Thursday announced it would apply a proposed ban on face-covering Islamic veils to visiting tourists as well as residents, even as skepticism mounted over the legality of the plan.

Junior family minister Nadine Morano said visitors would have to "respect the law" and uncover their faces, prompting critics to speculate whether Saudi luxury shoppers would be forced to unveil themselves on the glitzy Champs-Elysees.

"When you arrive in a country you have to respect the laws of that country," Morano said on France Info radio. "If I go to certain countries I'm also forced to respect the law."

Belgium was set Thursday to slap a ban on wearing the Islamic burqa in public, the first such clampdown in Europe, just a day after the French government promised a similar law.












French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday backed a strict public ban of the veil, commonly referred to in France as the burqa, eschewing more moderate proposals that focused on limits in state institutions such as schools and town halls.

The draft bill will be presented to the cabinet next month.

"Why should we accept (the veil) on the bus and not in the town hall?" Morano said. She repeated Sarkozy's line that the veil hurts the dignity of women and equality between the sexes.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Wednesday he was ready to take on a "legal risk" by supporting the ban, which could be challenged in the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that it violates freedom of religion.

France's highest court has already warned the government that a complete ban could be unlawful.

STRIPPING ON THE CHAMPS-ELYSEES?

If the European Court or domestic courts strike it down, Sarkozy would suffer his second constitutional defeat in the space of a few months -- late last year, his plan for a carbon tax was rejected because its many loopholes violated the principle of equality.

The French State Ombudsman, Jean-Paul Delevoye, worried that the law could result in difficult situations.

"I don't know what they're going to do with the Saudi women who go shopping on the Champs-Elysees," he said on French radio.

The opposition Socialists have repeatedly spoken out against full veils, but are doubtful about the effectiveness of the ban.

"I can't imagine policemen running through the streets to pull the veils off women," Socialist parliamentarian Jean-Christophe Cambadelis said on i-Tele television.

The government says women who wear all-covering veils, such as the Afghan burqa or the niqab, would not be forced to take them off on the spot but would be asked for their name and address, and be sent a warning and a fine.

An estimated 2,000 women in France wear such veils. Since the idea of a ban was first floated last year, many women have publicly said that they want to cover up and are not forced into the practice by their husbands or families.

However, some feminists from France's poor, multi-ethnic suburbs say there is increasing pressure on young women to veil themselves, and that a ban could help strengthen their position.



Belgium was set Thursday to slap a ban on wearing the Islamic burqa in public, the first such clampdown in Europe, just a day after the French government promised a similar law.

But a political crisis threatening the Belgian government and objections from France's constitutional watchdog mean the controversial measures might not make it into law.

Belgium's parliament was to vote on the law after its home affairs committee unanimously backed a nationwide ban on clothes or veils that do not allow the wearer to be fully identified, including the full-face niqab and burqa.

With both the governing parties and the opposition supporting the measure, Thursday's vote is expected to approve the draft law.

It would allow fines of 15-25 euros (20-34 dollars) and/or a jail sentence of up to seven days, for anyone ignoring it unless they had police permission to wear such garments.

But a party is threatening to pull out of the ruling coalition unless talks between the French and Dutch-language communities on power-sharing are not finalised in 24 hours.

And that means that the day's proceedings in parliament could yet be disrupted.

The French government said Wednesday it would ban Muslim women from wearing a full-face veil in public, despite a warning from experts that such a law could be unconstitutional.

The spokesman for President Nicolas Sarkozy's government said a bill would be presented to ministers in May and would seek to ban the niqab and the burqa from streets, shops and markets and not just from public buildings.

Most Muslim women, in France's immigrant communities and around the world, do not wear a full veil, but the niqab, which covers the face apart from the eyes, is widely worn on the Arabian peninsular and in the Gulf states.

The burqa, a shapeless full-body cloak that covers the face with a fabric grille, is worn in some areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"We're legislating for the future," government spokesman Luc Chatel told reporters after a cabinet meeting chaired by Sarkozy.

"Wearing a full veil is a sign of a community closing in on itself and of a rejection of our values," he added.

Last month however, the State Council -- France's top administrative authority -- warned Sarkozy against a full ban on the veil.

It suggested instead an order that women uncover their faces for security checks or meetings with officials.

In France, as in Belgium, there is strong parliamentary support for such a ban and the government is determined to press ahead.

According to Chatel, Sarkozy told his cabinet the veil was an "assault on women's dignity".

Human Rights Watch warned against such legislation, in a statement issued late Wednesday criticising the Belgian initiative.

"Bans like this lead to a lose-lose situation," said Judith Sunderland, senior Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch.

"They violate the rights of those who choose to wear the veil and do nothing to help those who are compelled to do so."

There was no evidence that wearing the full veil in public threatened public safety, public order, health, morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others, she added.

"At a time when Muslims in Europe feel more vulnerable than ever, the last thing needed is a ban like this, treating pious Muslim women like criminals won't help integrate them," Sunderland added.