**French President Nicolas Sarkozy has ordered parliament to debate a law banning women from wearing full-face Islamic veils in public, officials say.**Last year he said such veils oppressed women and were not welcome in France.
The proposal has provoked intense debate about religious freedom in a secular society, as well as the position of Muslims in France.
The country’s highest administrative body has suggested such a law might be unconstitutional.
The State Council said last month any such law could be in violation of the French constitution as well as the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
But it added that rules requiring faces to be uncovered in public places such as schools, hospitals and law courts could be justified for security reasons, to combat fraud and to meet the needs of some public services.
The State Council is required to give an opinion before any major piece of legislation is drafted in France.
Dignity threatened?
The president said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the government should submit a bill to parliament in May on a ban of such veils “in all public places”, said government spokesman Luc Chatel.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Mr Sarkozy said the full veils “do not pose a problem in a religious sense, but threaten the dignity of women”, Mr Chatel was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
President Sarkozy has said more than once that the face-covering veil is not welcome in France, and that he wants a law restricting it.
In January, a French parliamentary committee recommended a partial ban on Islamic face veils that could be imposed in hospitals, schools, government offices and on public transport.
There are several types of headscarves and veils for Muslim women - those that cover the face being the niqab and the burka. In France, the niqab is the version most commonly worn.
The interior ministry says only 1,900 women wear full veils in France, home to Europe’s biggest Muslim minority.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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