The French parliament adopted a law which outlaws the wearing of the full body veil, or burqa, in all public spaces.
The Senate voted 246 votes to 1 to ban the burqa (also known as the niqab) which entirely covers a woman's body and face in public.
People --read men--forcing women to wear a burqa can be fined 30,000 euros and sentenced up to one year in jail.
Women who wear the burqa in public can be fined 150 euros and, if caught wearing the garment repeatedly, obliged to take citizenship classes.
There is, however, a grace period. These penalities will not start being applied until six months after the law is finalized.
It is estimated that 2000 women in France wear the burqa, one third of whom are converts to Islam. There is concern among lawmakers that the practice, which is linked to a fundamentalist version of Islam incompatible with women's rights in France, appears to be spreading.
For background, see:
Request to Become French Citizen Rejected After Man Forces Wife to Wear Burqa,
Can France Revoke Citizenship? Not for Welfare Fraud or Polygamy
and French Politicians call for Commission to Stop Spread of Burqa.
