French Veil Ban Enters Force

BBC News reports:

A law has come into force in France which makes it an offence for a Muslim woman to conceal her face behind a veil when in public.

Anyone caught breaking the law will be liable to a fine of 150 euros (£133, $217) and a citizenship course.

People forcing women to wear the veil face a much larger fine and a prison sentence of up to two years.

France is the first country in Europe to publicly ban a form of dress some Muslims regard as a religious duty.

Under the law, any woman - French or foreign - walking on the street or in a park in France and wearing a face-concealing veil such as the niqab or burka can be stopped by police and given a fine.

It is a small fine, but symbolically this is a huge change, says the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris.

Guidelines issued to police say they should not ask women to remove their veils in the street, but should escort them to a police station where they would be asked to uncover their faces for identification.

The French government says the face-covering veil undermines the basic standards required for living in a shared society and also relegates its wearers to an inferior status incompatible with French notions of equality.

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