Paris: A leading lawmaker in President
Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative party says he hopes a bill
forbidding Islamic veils is passed in September.
Jean-Francois Cope says parliament will begin debating a
bill by early July and "ideally" it would be definitively
adopted mid-September.
That is the clearest timeline so far for the
controversial legislation that would ban burqa-like garments
everywhere, including in the streets.
The rival Socialists said Wednesday that they'll vote
against the bill, which wouldn't stop it from passing.
The issue has been debated for nearly a year but made
headlines last week after a veiled woman contested a traffic
citation for driving with garments that hindered vision. Her
husband is accused of polygamy.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 23:21