The new law will stop the niqab and the burka from being worn in the streets, shops and markets and not just in public buildings. Nicolas Sarkozy is to press ahead with the bill claiming that the veil is an "assault on women's dignity".
"We're legislating for the future. Wearing a full veil is a sign of a community closing in on itself and of a rejection of our values," Luc Chatel, a spokesman for Mr Sarkozy, on leaving a cabinet meeting led by the President. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more
