France Moves to Ban Burqas

anywhere in public.

The decision, which was made almost unanimously (335-1), will move to the Senate in September. If it’s passed, a violator will be charged a $185 fine or be forced to take a citizenship class.

The law also imposes a $38,000 fine and one-year prison term for anyone who forces women or girls to wear full-faced veils.

The French government is both giving itself the right to force people not to wear an article of clothing, as well as to punish individuals who force other people to wear an article of clothing.

The one “no” vote came from Green Party member, Francois Rugy, who accused his colleagues of fanning social tensions in order to transmit votes from the anti-immigrant National Front party.

If we’re to give the French government the benefit of the doubt, we’ll have to believe that this law is not just slimy political strategizing. In which case, is it a racist, unconstitutional law that’s being disguised as a women’s rights triumph? Because if that’s what they’re going for, maybe the they could hand Roman Polanski to the U.S. government for sentencing.

The other possibility would be that France’s government is actually one-upping Islamic misogyny by making it easier to check out any and all French women who walk the streets.