PARIS - The French parliament, without mentioning Islam, passed a law Tuesday banning full-face veils in public. Radio France Internationale said the ban, passed by the Senate 246-1, will go into effect early next year if it is not overturned by the courts.
President Nicolas Sarkozy's government touted the law as a way to protect women - keeping them from being forced to wear Muslim full-face veils such as the burqa and nijab.
The report said the legislation has already cleared the lower house, and must now be reviewed by the Constitutional Council, which has a month to determine its legality.
The law sets up a six-month period of education for women already wearing a face veil. Officials would tell women that if they choose to defy the ban in public, they would face a fine of 150 euros ($195) or a course on citizenship.
A man who forces a woman to go veiled would be fined 30,000 euros ($39,000).
