A Vote Of 246-1

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Info excerpted from aol.com and nytimes.com:

The French Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a bill banning the burqa-style Islamic veil in public.  The new law also provides criminal penalties for those who force women to wear it. The leaders of both parliamentary houses said they had asked a special council to first ensure the measure passes constitutional muster.

The Senate voted 246-1  in favor of the bill. It will need President Sarkozy’s signature.

“This law was the object of long and complex debates,” the Senate president, Gerard Larcher, and National Assembly head Bernard Accoyer said in a joint statement explaining their move. They said they want to be sure there is “no uncertainty” about it conforming to the constitution.

The vast majority behind the measure say it will preserve the nation’s singular values, including its secular foundation and a notion of fraternity that is contrary to those who hide their faces. The law is very popular with the public, in that it defends traditional French values like women’s rights and secularism.

Other European countries, including Belgium, are considering laws against face-covering veils, seen as anathema to the local culture.