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France's Senate Passes Ban on Burqa and Niqab

By Howard M. Friedman

France's Senate today, by a vote of 246-1, approved a bill banning wearing anywhere in public of garments such as the niqab or burqa that include a full-face veil.  The National Assembly, the lower house of France's Parliament has already approved the bill. (See prior posting.) According to BBC, the bill now goes to France's Constitutional Council which has one month to confirm the law's constitutionality. If it passes this hurdle, it will go into effect in six months, though it could also be challenged before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Hours after the Senate's action, French police, in response to a bomb threat, evacuated the Eiffel Tower and the park around it. (CNN). It is not clear whether the threat was connected to the Senate's action.

UPDATE: To clarify the voting numbers, the French Senate has 346 members. (Wikipedia.) Most of the opposition Socialist senators abstained. They do not favor full-body veils, but oppose banning them through legislation. (Wall Street Journal).

Full post as published by Religion Clause on September 14, 2010 (boomark / email).