The poster that is being put up to explain the law. The quotation cites the law: "No one may, in public, wear anything designed to hide the face."
As of today, the wearing of any kind of face cover is illegal in public spaces in France. An officer of the forces de l'ordre is not allowed to take off the veil but can order the person to be brought to the nearest police station to have her (or his) identity verified. Under normal circumstances the fine is € 150, but if the veiled person is a minor, the fine is doubled.
I'm curious what will happen with this law. There aren't many women in France who wear a burka-- one estimate I saw was twelve of them-- but there are some who wear niqabs, which allow only the eyes to show. I saw one yesterday at the Eurostar, along with a jolly-looking man and a teenage girl wearing an I ❤ London t-shirt. They didn't look French, but this law applies to tourists too.
But not only tourists. I could just see the cops going up to some nice new Paris Americans taking their kids trick-or-treating or going to a Halloween party in the fall. "Vos papiers, s'il vous plaît!" Who would think that letting your child wear a Batman mask could cost you €300?
"if the veiled person is a minor, the fine is doubled" I'm sure that's perfectly logical to the French.
Posted by: starman1695 | 14 April 2011 at 21:33
The rationale is that someone could be forcing a child to veil.
Posted by: Sedulia | 15 April 2011 at 03:08
I've been wondering what the response to this new law will be. Have there been protests? It's a pretty complicated issue, isn't it? On one hand no one should be forced to veil, but if it's a choice, and a religious and/or cultural one at that...
Posted by: Will | 17 April 2011 at 17:54