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Sarko the troll

One one level, I know that mentioning French laws on the burqa is just playing into the UMPs tactics, which are basically a skilled case of legislative trolling. Ensure that what should be a non-issue stays constantly in the news, divert liberal energy into making a right-but-unpopular case, provide an way of expressing islamophobia under cover of women's rights, keep the fear and distrust simmering.

Anyway, Libération has some more details on the form the law is likely to take. "So as not to appear discriminatory", they write with justifiable snarkiness, the law will be against any covering of the entire face within a public space. Presumably they'll spend the coming weeks assuring exceptions for skiiers, motorcyclists, beekeepers, and anyone else with a non-religious reason to cover their face. [I guess they won't do anything about balaclava-wearing anarchists, oddly enough;)]

Meanwhile laïcite is being played in the other direction, in reaction to the Swiss minaret ban. At least, it is providing the language in which to condemn a statement that "when there are more minarets than Cathedrals in France, it will no longer be France".