The French have a penchant for strange laws. A cursory Google search reveals that in Paris, among other weird laws, an ashtray is considered a deadly weapon!
And all across France, naming a pig Napoleon is illegal. Good for the pigs that.
On 11 April, 2011, the French banned the burqa. The only exceptions to the ban, officially called The Bill to Forbid Concealing One's Face in Public, are motorcyclists wearing helmets, or people wearing masks for health reasons, fencing, skiing or carnivals. (What if I'm a compulsive skier who likes to keep my gear on while I roam the streets? Even in summer? Well, the bill has no provisions for such mental weirdness.)
Women 'caught' wearing the burqa in France face - notice the clever use of the word face - a 150-Euro fine or citizenship lessons. While the Police cannot forcibly remove offending women's burqas, they can order them to a police station & check their identity.
A clause in the law also states that any person forcing a woman to wear the full veil faces a year's imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 Euros. If the woman is under 18, the punishment is 60,000 Euros and up two years' imprisonment.
How this law will be applied is anyone's guess. I personally can't imagine a law enforcement agent prioritising chasing down a 'Burqa culprit' instead of a thief or a terrorist.
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In Picture: Kenza Drider, the first woman to be arrested for wearing the burqa in France, has become the symbol of the protest against the ban. "The law makes France look stupid around the world....I never thought we'd reach a day when the country where I was born and which I love would end up imposing a law like this," Drider told the Mirror
Image copyright: AP. Any unauthorised reproduction is prohibited
