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INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000093 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2020 
TAGS: PGOV KIRF FR
SUBJECT: FRANCE MOVES TOWARD BAN ON BURQAS 
 
Classified By: Minister Counselor for Political Affairs Kathleen Allegr 
one, Reasons 1.4(b),(d). 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: The parliamentary commission investigating 
the wearing of the burqa in France recommended banning Muslim 
women from "concealing their faces" in public facilities on 
January 26, in the release of their much-anticipated report. 
Calling for a partial ban on burqas, the commission concluded 
that the full veils represent a security issue in places like 
banks, hospitals, and subways where people need to be 
identified.  Considered "contrary to the values of the French 
Republic" by the panel, the recommendation was largely 
supported by the French public, although some lawmakers seek 
to extend the ban on burqas to include all public spaces. 
These recommendations have met with mixed reactions with 
support from some French Muslim women and political leaders 
and critiques from some Muslim leaders who fear a ban could 
provoke Islamic extremists in France and abroad.  Post judges 
that these legislative steps towards a full ban on burqas are 
likely to heighten social tension in French society.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS PARTIAL BAN 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Convened six months ago after President Sarkozy 
said that the burqa was "not welcome on French soil," the 
parliamentary commission examining the wearing of burqas in 
France issued their long-awaited report and findings on 
January 26.  In a 700-page report that included 500 pages 
worth of testimonials, the panel recommended that individuals 
be banned from "concealing one's face" in French public 
institutions, including banks, post offices, hospitals, 
schools, and on mass transit.  With the proposed partial ban, 
France is the first country in Europe to take a national 
stance on the issue of burqas and could legally justify the 
limitation as necessary to address "problems of security...in 
places where we need to identify people."  Union for a 
Popular Movement (UMP) spokesperson Bernard Accroyer spelled 
out the reasons behind the recommendation as "the wearing of 
the full veil is a challenge to our Republic and we must 
condemn this excess.  The veil stands for everything that 
France rejects...it is the symbol of the enslavement of women 
and the flag of fundamentalism."  The report advocated 
barring anyone demonstrating radical religious practices, 
such as women who wear the burqa and their husbands, from 
obtaining French citizenship.  The report also called for 
education programs to reduce fundamentalism. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The commission failed to reach consensus on whether 
to completely ban the burqa from French streets, stating that 
the means of "stopping this practice is not the easiest to 
define."  The panel recognized that legislation calling for a 
complete burqa ban in all public places might be challenged 
at the Council of Europe as unconstitutional or even a 
violation of human rights and religious freedom.  To head off 
that problem, the commission suggested that parliament seek 
advice from the French Council of State regarding the 
compatibility of such a ban with both French law and the 
European declaration of human rights.  As a result, the 
committee adjusted its recommendation to a limited ban and a 
non-binding resolution, which is symbolic in nature, 
describing the full veil as "incompatible with the values of 
the French Republic."  The parliamentary panel's 
recommendation of a limited ban will not lead immediately to 
a new law, as any governmental action on the report would not 
come before the regional elections scheduled for March 14 and 
March 24. 
 
THE POLITICAL DEBATE CONTINUES 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The report generated mixed responses among members 
of parliament, with a majority from across the political 
spectrum supporting the report's findings and a diverse 
faction disappointed that the commission did not recommend a 
full ban on burqas in all public spaces.  President Sarkozy's 
majority UMP party, like the other major parties, remains 
divided over the issue, with National Assembly leader 
Jean-Francois Cope pushing for a full ban in French streets 
while most UMP officials only support a partial ban as 
recommended in the report.  The Socialist Party (PS) 
abstained from voting on the report recommendations, stating 
that the issue of burqas does not merit a law.  PS members on 
the 32-member panel also worried that a potential burqa ban 
could become part of the national identity debate, fueling 
the fear of Islam and xenophobia that has been heighted 
recently after the Swiss referendum to ban the construction 
of additional minarets resonated strongly in France.  A 
member of the Communist Party and president of the 
parliamentary commission, deputy Andre Gerin cautioned on 
January 26 that the report should not "lead to a debate about 
religion" but rather focus on the security "practices" of 
 
terrorism and extremism that "hide behind the full veil." 
 
A DIVIDED FRENCH MUSLIM COMMUNITY REACTS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The non-governmental group called Ni Putes Ni 
Soumises (Neither Whores Nor Submissives), representing 
French women of North African origin and founded by current 
Minister of Urbanization Fadela Amara, demonstrated in 
support of the burqa ban on January 25 in Paris.  Donning 
full veils, members maintained silence for hours to indicate 
that "the burqa is a symbol of oppression against women," 
said the group's president Sihem Habchi.  French television 
channels broadcasted debates and reports throughout the day 
on January 26 and 27, featuring women in burqas fiercely 
defending their right to wear the full veil.  On January 26, 
the French Council for Muslim Faith (CFCM) backed the partial 
ban on burqas but rejected the idea of extending the ban to 
all public places.  CFCM leader Mohammed Moussaoui maintained 
that while Islam does not require women to wear full veils, 
banning burqas would "stigmatize" Muslim women, as the 2004 
law forbidding headscarves and other ostentatious religious 
symbols in French public schools succeeded in doing.  The 
CFCM and the Union of French Islamic Organizations (UOIF) 
both regretted that the report did not endorse the 
establishment of a national institute on the study of Islam, 
nor create a parliamentary study group on Islamophobia as 
they had initially suggested. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Calling it "a false debate," the regional CFCM 
president Mohammed Iboudaaten said on January 26 that "it's a 
political strategy by Sarkozy. The burqa is not an issue in 
France."  Warning that the panel's report could cause 
trouble, he agreed that it was not wise to "provoke Muslims 
not only in France but in the world."  Hassen Chalghoumi, a 
controversial imam who publicly backs the burqa ban, reported 
that about 80 men burst into his mosque in the Paris suburb 
of Drancy on January 25, just four days after he came out in 
support of the ban.  He lodged a formal complaint on January 
26 for "intentional violence and death threats" by the 
intruders, who seized the microphone and called him a 
"disbeliever" and an "apostate" while declaring they would 
"liquidate...this Imam of the Jews." 
 
FRENCH PUBLIC OPINION OPPOSES BURQAS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Viewed by many in France as a sign of extremism and 
a threat to gender equality and secularism, a majority of 
French say that they would support an anti-burqa law. 
However, a recent GN Research survey indicated that 22 
percent of respondents were "indifferent" to such a ban, 
labeling the controversy as a political calculus by Sarkozy 
to mobilize his conservative base.  Although the Ministry of 
Interior estimates that fewer than 2,000 women wear the full 
veil, France is home to approximately 5 million Muslims, 
representing the largest such community Europe.  If passed 
into law in its current form individuals defying the ban 
would be denied public services.  If expanded to include a 
ban of full veils and burqas in public along the lines of 
legal text proposed by UMP National Assembly leader Cope on 
January 12, then violators could face fines of 750 euros 
($1100). 
 
¶8. (C/NF) COMMENT: Despite divisions in the ruling UMP party 
over the issue, post judges that lawmakers are moving closer 
to drafting a bill barring the burqa in selected public 
places based as much on a valuation of security over personal 
freedoms as on a desire to defend what supporters view as 
French republican values.  Our current calculation of 
political support in the National Assembly suggests a partial 
ban on burqas will likely be approved and implemented.  We 
expect legal challenges will ensue including at the national 
level court system and at European level based on challenges 
in the European Court of Human Rights. END COMMENT. 
RIVKIN