France has the largest Muslim community of any country on the European continent - there are some 5 million people living there who have a Muslim background according to the latest estimate.
At the same time, France has a history of being a secular country, and has seen fit to ensure that religious symbols do not play too prominent a role within its society.
Issues with Muslim dress requirements first arose during the years of the Chirac Presidency when girls were banned from wearing headscarves in school. The justification for this was that all religious symbols were not allowed to be worn in French schools, accordingly, as this rule applied to Christians and Jewish children already, in the name of fairness no exceptions could be made for Muslims, whatever the parental wishes might be.
While this judgement remained controversial, it was enforced without a great deal of fuss and became accepted, albeit reluctantly, by the French Muslim community.
The more recent move to ban the burqa, though, has raised significantly more controversy.
Again the French saw their secular principles at risk, and considered action necessary to ensure that these principles were maintained.
The position of the French government, as strongly advocated by President Nicolas Sarkozy, was to ban the garment from being worn in public places, whether on the street, in post offices or in banks. The tenor of the argument was not aimed at the women who wore the garments, but rather at their husbands, who may have forced their wives to dress according to their expectations in line with traditional codes of honour within the Muslim community.
Women would be given a six-month period in which to educate themselves as to what the law entailed, and bring themselves in line with the legal requirements involved. After this period, they could face a fine up to 150 Euro and also be required to attend lessons in "citizenship". Meanwhile any man forcing his wife to wear such a garment against her will, could be obliged to pay a fine of up to 30,000 Euro, and could possibly face a jail sentence as well.
Although seemingly draconian in its approach, the law's proponents were keen to point out that the number of women, who actually wear the full face covering burqa, amounted to fewer than two thousand people, and they were among the most vulnerable members of the immigrant community. Sentiment among the public at large, as indicated in opinion polls, was strongly behind President Sarkozy on this issue.
After months of deliberation, the bill to enact the law was finally brought before the French Senate on September 14th, 2010. The bill was passed overwhelmingly by a margin of 246 to 1. This though did not reflect quite the complete unanimity that would be indicated by such a massive majority - some 100 senators chose to abstain on the issue.
The law has still to be confirmed by the higher level of the French judiciary, so as to ensure that it conforms with all constitutional requirements. If this proves to be the case, the law will be enforceable from early in 2011.
At the same time, France has a history of being a secular country, and has seen fit to ensure that religious symbols do not play too prominent a role within its society.
Issues with Muslim dress requirements first arose during the years of the Chirac Presidency when girls were banned from wearing headscarves in school. The justification for this was that all religious symbols were not allowed to be worn in French schools, accordingly, as this rule applied to Christians and Jewish children already, in the name of fairness no exceptions could be made for Muslims, whatever the parental wishes might be.
While this judgement remained controversial, it was enforced without a great deal of fuss and became accepted, albeit reluctantly, by the French Muslim community.The more recent move to ban the burqa, though, has raised significantly more controversy.
Again the French saw their secular principles at risk, and considered action necessary to ensure that these principles were maintained.
The position of the French government, as strongly advocated by President Nicolas Sarkozy, was to ban the garment from being worn in public places, whether on the street, in post offices or in banks. The tenor of the argument was not aimed at the women who wore the garments, but rather at their husbands, who may have forced their wives to dress according to their expectations in line with traditional codes of honour within the Muslim community.
Women would be given a six-month period in which to educate themselves as to what the law entailed, and bring themselves in line with the legal requirements involved. After this period, they could face a fine up to 150 Euro and also be required to attend lessons in "citizenship". Meanwhile any man forcing his wife to wear such a garment against her will, could be obliged to pay a fine of up to 30,000 Euro, and could possibly face a jail sentence as well.
Although seemingly draconian in its approach, the law's proponents were keen to point out that the number of women, who actually wear the full face covering burqa, amounted to fewer than two thousand people, and they were among the most vulnerable members of the immigrant community. Sentiment among the public at large, as indicated in opinion polls, was strongly behind President Sarkozy on this issue.
After months of deliberation, the bill to enact the law was finally brought before the French Senate on September 14th, 2010. The bill was passed overwhelmingly by a margin of 246 to 1. This though did not reflect quite the complete unanimity that would be indicated by such a massive majority - some 100 senators chose to abstain on the issue.
The law has still to be confirmed by the higher level of the French judiciary, so as to ensure that it conforms with all constitutional requirements. If this proves to be the case, the law will be enforceable from early in 2011.
