France votes on banning burqas in public

The burqa ban goes before France's parliament for the first time today as MPs prepare to outlaw full-face Islamic veils in public which present a "dark and sectarian" image.

Fines of about £120 could be imposed once the law has been voted on next week. If the measure is passed it will go before the Senate, the upper house, in September and could be law soon afterwards.

France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, with some six million living across the country.

Prime minister Francois Fillon opened a mosque in the suburbs of Paris last week and accused those who wear the veil of "hijacking Islam" and creating a "dark sectarian image".

Opponents of face veils believe they alienate women from society, allowing authoritarian husbands or fathers to oppress them. There have also been claims that criminals - from terrorists to shoplifters - can use them as a disguise.

But critics of a ban say it is a waste of parliamentary time because only a tiny minority of Muslim women wear them - estimated at 2,000.

Some suggest that a ban could lead to tensions in volatile council estates, where Muslims have been known to riot because of discrimination.

Mohammed Moussaoui, president of the French Muslim Council, said: We have always been opposed to the ban, which will not achieve anything.'

The Council of State, France's highest court, suggested in March that a ban might be illegal.