Milord Personally, rather critical of anti-burqa laws myself. I mean, I hate pretty much everything a burqa stands for: a rather extreme form of Islam, very potent gender discrimination that often takes on oppressive forms, the idea that immodest dress is to blame for sexual transgressions, rather than the perpetrator. As such, the fewer burqas I see, the better.
On the other hand, I also see attire as a form of free expression, and telling people how they are allowed to dress is pretty much an important reason why I dislike burqas in the first place. If the wearer is truly freely choosing to wear this sort of outfit, who are we to deny them that right?
Finally, on the identifiability side, I very much see laws requiring citizens to be identifiable in public as a dangerous step towards a police state. German states have such laws for political demonstrations (that can also be applied to some other forms of public gatherings), and while I understand the public interest in it, I still vehemently oppose it.
So, from one western European nation to another, shame on France.
