“Following the Belgian parliament’s decision in May to vote through a law banning the niqab and burqa, now France’s National Assembly has shown itself equally determined to rid public spaces of extravagant face-veiling clothing. Last week, a ‘bill to forbid concealing one’s face in public’ was approved by 335 votes to one. While there’s still a chance that France’s highest legal body, the Constitutional Council, will rule the bill unconstitutional, a French ban on the face-covering niqab and the accompanying outer garment, the burqa, could be in force by early next year.” (07/19/10)