PARIS: France wants to study the small but growing trend of burqa wear, with an eye to possibly banning the Islamic garment from being worn in public, the government’s spokesman said yesterday.
Luc Chatel told France-2 television that the government would seek to set up a parliamentary commission that could propose legislation aimed at barring Muslim women from wearing the burqa and other fully covering gowns outside the home. “If we find that use of the burqa was very clearly imposed (on women) ... we would draw the appropriate conclusions,” Chatel said. Asked whether that could mean legislation banning the burqa in France, he responded “why not?” Chatel’s comments have helped revive debate about whether wear of Islamic garments is appropriate in France.
French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said yesterday that having a parliamentary commission study the issue would be a “good way” to find out how extensively burqas and niqabs are worn in France — and what response might be adequate.
She conceded that legislating on what people can and cannot wear in public was a spiny matter, and also acknowledged it would be difficult to determine whether women wore the full-body veils because they were forced to or because they wanted to, Alliot-Marie said.
