.... France, by contrast, is largely pursuing its own burqa and niqab debate within the context of the country's commitment to the secular society, or laïcité, as it is referred to on the other side of the Channel.
When the country imposed a ban on religious symbols, including the Islamic headscarf, in state schools in 2004, it was not because they weren't French enough, but because they were not secular. A burqa and niqab ban can, according to this reasoning, be imposed outside any nationalistic debate. [Guardian Cif] Read more
