Excerpt:
France on Tuesday took its first legislative step towards banning the full Islamic veil when parliament adopted a formal resolution branding the burka an affront to French values.
The non-binding measure, approved by all mainstream parties, will be followed in July by a law that will outlaw Muslim women from wearing the burka, which covers the face with a mesh, or the niqab, a full-body garment with eye slits.
France is set to be the second European country - after Belgium - to declare the full veil illegal in public places.