Nicolas Sarkozy plans law to ban face veil for Muslims

Nicolas Sarkozy today announced that he wants to ban the Muslim face veil in public places in France.

The president is to submit a Bill to parliament restricting the niqab, which covers the face apart from the eyes and is worn with a long robe, and similar garments that cover head and body.

The veil would be banned from universities, hospitals, public transport and post offices.
President Sarkozy has previously spoken against the veil, which he believes oppresses women and is "not welcome" in France.

The law could be in force by the end of the year. It comes after a parliamentary committee called for women who wear the niqab to be refused access to public services and transport.

But the committee stopped short of recommending the veil be outlawed in private areas and in the street.

The face veil is widely viewed in France as a gateway to extremism, an insult to women and an offence against the country's secular values. But it is estimated that no more than 2,000 women in a Muslim population of more than five million wear it.