FRANCE’S HIGHEST legal advisory body has warned against a full ban on face-covering veils, which it believes could be ruled unconstitutional.
A separate parliamentary commission examined the issue for six months last year before recommending a partial ban on full veils such as the burqa and niqab in all town halls, hospitals, buses, trains and government offices.
In January, however, prime minister François Fillon asked the Council of State, which provides the government with legal advice, to examine how France might impose “the widest and most effective” ban on face-covering veils without “offending our Muslim compatriots”.
In a report published yesterday, the council concluded that a total ban in all public places could violate the French constitution and European law, as “no indisputable legal basis for a general and absolute ban on wearing a complete face-covering veil as such could be found”. Even limited restrictions would be hard to enforce, it added.
The council found there could be a solid legal basis for requiring people to present an uncovered face in certain cases, including situations involving public security; in courts, polling stations, city halls and places where the sale of items requires age verification; or at school doors, where children are picked up.
French intelligence estimates up to 2,000 women in France, of whom nearly all are young, cover their faces. Two-thirds are French citizens, and one-quarter are converts to Islam. On Monday, Mr Fillon he said he hoped to table a draft law on the veil within weeks.