French anti-burqa law to jail offenders

8220;No-one may wear in public places clothes that are aimed at hiding the face,8221; says the text of a new law that is to be presented to parliament in July,according to a copy seen by the pro-government newspaper Le Figaro.

The law will create a new offence of 8220;incitement to cover the face for reasons of gender,8221; the paper said,and this offence will incur a 15,000 euro fine and a year in prison.

Legislators decided to impose a much smaller fine on women caught wearing the veil in public 8220;because these women are often victims,8221; one of the authors of the law told Le Figaro on condition of anonymity.

Women caught wearing the full veil can choose to attend a 8220;citizenship course8221; instead of paying the fine,the paper said.

Sarkozy decided this month to opt for a total ban on the full-face veil,despite warnings from the State Council,France8217;s top administrative body,that the law could be struck down as unconstitutional.

The president has declared the burqa and the niqab 8211;veils worn by Muslim woman in parts of Afghanistan,Pakistan and the Gulf 8212; unwelcome in France,calling them an affront to French values that denigrate women.

There has been a fierce debate in France,home to Europe8217;s biggest Muslim minority of between five and six million,with supporters of a ban arguing that veils are a sign of creeping fundamentalism that must not be allowed to take hold.

But opponents accuse Sarkozy of pandering to the far-right with such moves and note figures showing that only 1,900 women wear the full veil in France.

Neighbouring Belgium yesterday became Europe8217;s first country to vote for a ban,sparking dismay among Muslims and warnings of a dangerous precedent.