{"id":1099,"date":"2010-07-14T04:18:55","date_gmt":"2010-07-14T04:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=1099"},"modified":"2017-10-18T14:46:17","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T12:46:17","slug":"banning-the-burqa-une-nouvelle-loi-francaise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/banning-the-burqa-une-nouvelle-loi-francaise\/","title":{"rendered":"Banning the Burqa: Une nouvelle loi fran\u00e7aise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aujourd\u2019hui, l\u2019Assembl\u00e9e nationale <\/em>(Today, the National Assembly) a vot\u00e9 <\/em>(voted for) l\u2019interdiction du port du voile int\u00e9gral<\/em><\/strong>. A law banning the full-face veil, or voile int\u00e9gral<\/em>, has already been passed in the lower house of le parlement belge<\/em> (Belgian parliament). When we discussed that law in April (The Burqa Ban in Belgium<\/a>, April 30), le d\u00e9bat a \u00e9t\u00e9 assez chaud<\/em>. Our discussion was pretty heated, with many opinions on the appropriateness of the law and the future of the veil in Western Europe.<\/p>\n

Toujours au centre de la discussion actuelle de la culture et de l\u2019identit\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise<\/em> (still at the center of the current discussion of French culture and identity), abordons un peu la nouvelle loi <\/em>(let\u2019s discuss a bit the new law)<\/p>\n

La loi prohibe <\/em>(the law prohibits) \u201cla dissimulation du visage,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>which is the hiding of one\u2019s face, not necessarily the wearing of a burqa or niqab. Mais elle<\/em> \u201cinterdit de fait le port du niqab ou de la burqa dans tout l\u2019espace public\u201d <\/em>(\u201cL\u2019Assembl\u00e9e nationale vote l\u2019interdiction du port du voile int\u00e9gral\u201d<\/a>). The same article notes that only 2,000 women are thought to be affected by the new law.<\/p>\n

The law is being reviewed by le Conseil d\u2019\u00c9tat<\/em><\/strong> (the Council of State, France\u2019s highest legal advisory body), who will consider its compatibilit\u00e9<\/em> with la constitution fran\u00e7aise<\/em><\/strong> et la Convention europ\u00e9enne des droits de l\u2019homme<\/strong> <\/em>(the French constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights). The concern is that the freedom of those 2,000 women to openly practice their religion is curtailed by the new law for no reason other than their religious identity.<\/p>\n

This conflict between la la\u00efcit\u00e9 <\/em><\/strong>de l\u2019\u00c9tat <\/em>(the secularism of the state), l\u2019\u00e9galit\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>(equality) et la libert\u00e9 <\/strong>des citoyens <\/em>(the freedom of citizens) calls into question some of France\u2019s dearest principles. The consensus in the French government appears to be anti-burqa\/niqab, as evidenced by the abstention of the opposition parties from today\u2019s vote \u201ctout en \u00e9tant r\u00e9solument oppos\u00e9e(s) au port du niqab et de la burqa\u201d <\/em>(while being resolutely opposed to the wearing of the niqab and the burqa).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to see this as a constructive step in France\u2019s evolving conception of its identit\u00e9 nationale<\/em>. In 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy created a Minist\u00e8re de l’Immigration, de l’Int\u00e9gration, de l’Identit\u00e9 nationale et du D\u00e9veloppement solidaire<\/a>(Ministry of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Co-Development). The creation of the ministry was controversial, with Doudou Di\u00e8ne, rapporteur sp\u00e9cial de l\u2019ONU contre le racisme <\/em>(special rapporteur<\/em>, or investigator, of the UN against racism), recognizing it as une <\/em>\u00ab\u00a0lecture ethnique et raciale<\/strong> des questions politiques, \u00e9conomiques et sociales<\/strong> et le traitement id\u00e9ologique et politique de l’immigration<\/strong> comme un enjeu s\u00e9curitaire<\/strong> et comme une menace \u00e0 l’identit\u00e9 nationale<\/strong> \u00bb <\/em> (voir l’article<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Di\u00e8ne\u2019s reconnaissance, <\/em>that France is assigning an ethnic and racial reading to political, economic and social questions, and treating immigration as a security issue and menace to national identity, is, for me, spot-on. Instead of voting 335 to one for legislation against la voile musulmane <\/em>(the Muslim veil), perhaps France could agree to recognize that it is on the wrong path in treating an unfamiliar racial or ethnic issue as a threat worthy of legislation. Opening an honest and inclusive debate on the question might achieve more stabilit\u00e9 <\/em>than the proposed \u20ac150 amende <\/em>(fine).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Aujourd\u2019hui, l\u2019Assembl\u00e9e nationale (Today, the National Assembly) a vot\u00e9 (voted for) l\u2019interdiction du port du voile int\u00e9gral. A law banning the full-face veil, or voile int\u00e9gral, has already been passed in the lower house of le parlement belge (Belgian parliament). When we discussed that law in April (The Burqa Ban in Belgium, April 30), le…<\/p>\n

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