Girls in France Dress Up to Protest New Law Banning Veils

A protest in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral earlier in the week led to the arrests of two veil-clad women -- but they were arrested because they were protesting without a permit, rather than for wearing the veils.

Two French female students, one of them Muslim, dressed up in full head scarves, bare legs and mini-shorts as a critique of the law.  They made a film posted to the news site Rue89 that shows the reaction as they strolled the streets of Paris. 
At one point in the film, they approach the ministry of immigration and are told by a policeman to go elsewhere.  Later, a policewoman asks, “I love your outfit, is it to do with the new law?”

“Yes, we want to de-dramatize the situation,” one girl replies.

Women will be fined for wearing a veil

	Several women have been protesting the ban, claiming they have the right to wear a symbol of their religion.

The fine for wearing the face-covering veil is 150 euros (or about $215). Anyone found forcing a woman to wear a full-face veil, also known as the burqa or niqab, faces fines of up to 30,000 euros (or $43,400) and a year in prison. For a girl under the age of 18, the penalty doubles.

Several women were cited for wearing veils during the first week of enforcement, according to French newspapers.

A representative of the French police union told the New York Times that the law was “a source of trouble more than anything else.” In areas with large immigrant populations, he said, the law cannot be carried out strictly: “We’ll create riots.”
An estimated 5 million to 6 million Muslims live in France, and about 2,000 women wear the burqa or niqab, according to the government.

Veils, masks and helmets included in ban

	Other things that cover the face, such as helmets and masks, were also banned because the government says they are security threats.

Police were given guidelines on how to tactfully handle citations, including inviting -- rather than ordering -- people to lift their veils and providing a female police officer when one is requested.

According to the law's designers, the ban is not meant to target Muslims or Islam but anyone who uses any face covering, including masks and motorcycle helmets with visors, explained Mildrade Cherfils, a GlobalPost reporter in Paris.

If the law had discriminated against one group, it would not have cleared the Constitutional Council, she added.

"The idea is that you don't cover your face in public in order to be identified for security reasons," she said.

Religious implications of ban raise questions

	French president Nicolas Sarkozy has come under fire for unfairly targeting the Muslim religion.

Nonetheless, the ban received international attention because of its religious and political implications. Critics said the law was an attempt by French President Nicholas Sarkozy to win back votes from the far-right National Front party, which is known for its anti-immigration message.

Mr. Sarkozy has responded that Islam is not the problem, only radical Islam, which does not respect French values and separation of church and state. Veils were already banned in French public schools by a 2004 law.