The French cabinet has approved a draft law that if passed would ban the wearing of full-face veils in public spaces, opening the way for the text to go before parliament in July.

The bill calls for $185 fines and, in some cases, citizenship classes for women do not comply with the ban.

Addressing the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said: “Citizenship should be experienced with an uncovered face.

“There can be no other solution but a ban in all public places.”

The bill includes a new offence – inciting to hide the face – with anyone convicted of forcing a woman to wear such a veil risking a year in prison and a $18,555 fine.

The interior ministry estimates that only 1,900 women cover their faces with veils in France out of an estimated five million Muslims, the largest such population in western Europe.   »»» Al Jazeera English

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