Curbs on wearing the full Muslim veil come a step closer in France today with a report that will call for a ban on the dress in post offices, universities, hospitals and state-owned premises, as well as public transport.
Last night President Sarkozy was due to endorse the proposals, to be made by an all-party commission. Last week he called the niqab, the form of veil worn in France, “contrary to our values and to the ideals we have of women’s dignity”. Parliament is expected to act on the proposals in the spring.
If they become law women with covered faces would be refused public services such as transport, university classes and benefits.
The popular campaign for an “anti-burka law”, as it is known, is helping Mr Sarkozy after a series of political blunders in recent months that have robbed him of his aura of invincibility. In his appearance last night he sought to restore confidence in his administration. His format — questions from 11 hand-picked members of the public — was attacked by the opposition as “Berlusconi-style” propaganda.
Two out of three people want the veil, worn by a small but growing number of young fundamentalists, to be outlawed anywhere in public, according to opinion polls. Mr Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) and a section of the left-wing opposition want that, too, but the President called for narrower measures and more thought. France should not stigmatise Muslims, he said.
After five months of testimony from religious leaders, human rights activists and others, the parliamentary commission closed its work in disarray. A limited legal ban and a parliamentary resolution condemning the niqab was the maximum consensus that could be reached. Even that is likely to draw criticism from outside France.
The Socialist opposition, divided among themselves over the veil, are to abstain from a vote on the report. They say that it has been polluted by a “great national debate” on French identity that Mr Sarkozy has staged over the past three months.
Some figures in Mr Sarkozy’s party are also uneasy over the way that the veil question has been blended with the national debate, which has focused on the integration of the country’s five million Muslims. Mr Sarkozy has contributed to the distaste, calling on French Muslims to be discreet about practising their religion. The critics see this as a crude play for votes before the regional council elections in March.
Muslim leaders told the commission that the full veil was not supported by most Muslims but that a law would add to the feeling of rejection.
Views on the veil
The Netherlands A proposal to ban veils failed in 2006 after lawyers said that it would be unconstitutional. The Government has since said that it will try to ban face-covering veils in schools and for government employees
Italy A law passed in 1975 required people to keep their faces visible in public but it is not usually applied to Muslim women. Silvio Berlusconi’s government said in October 2009 that it would try to add a specific ban on religious garments that cover the face
Belgium Full veils were banned in the town of Maaseik in 2004 but there is no countrywide ban
Germany Some states have banned teachers from wearing headscarves in public schools
Switzerland The Justice Ministry said that it would consider a ban after November’s referendum halting the building of new minarets
Turkey Islamic-style headscarves in schools, universities and government offices are banned