France's Socialist Government Today Pledged To Toughen Up Its Anti Face-Covering Law After A Veiled Muslim Woman Was Ejected From A Major Paris Opera House.

[anotheoldgit]

/// France,which is home to some five million Muslims, was the first European country to ban the full-face Islamic veil in public places. ///

/// Belgium followed suit soon afterwards, but there is no veil ban at all in Britain, despite calls by a minority of right wing MPs for one. ///

Can someone explain why it takes a socialist government in France to introduce this ban, but if anyone was to put forward the suggestion that this ridiculous mode of dress should be banned in Britain, they would be called at the least right-wing?

[janbee]

Well done to the French in this matter.

[SirOracle]

France has the advantage of a Socialist government AOG

[New Judge]

I think it's probably because, regardles of their position on the political spectrum, governments in France have traditionally championed the rights of the French (to see everybody else's faces in public places, in this instance) as opposed to those of foreigners (who want to walk about masked up).

[douglas9401]

Dunno, maybe a massive cover-up.

[andy-hughes]

AOG - "... this ridiculous mode of dress ..."

That is a matter of personal interpertation.

I for one would ban teens in jeans that hang off their skinny arses!!!

[Retrochic]

Because they are French and they don't care what anyone else thinks, go live in France and don't try to change their rules,live like them of *** off . The UK should be more like that .

[chaptazbru2]

'The UK should be more like that'. Totally agree.

[Old_Geezer]

Yes, but is the face covering responsibility safe in left wing French hands ?

[naomi24]

Me too.

[naomi24]

That was to chaptazbru.

[Zeuhl]

It is not a political issue it is a cultural one.

The French have always been very defensive of their culture and as they are also predisposed to Regulation and the enshrinement of certain standards have frequently attempted to protect it by Law.

Most famously they have regulated on language to try and prevent the creep of English words and Americanisms.

Whilst they have met with limited success, on this matter I wish them all the best.

And I think it is foolish and naive to confuse the wearing of a face-mask with a 'mode of dress'

[agchristie]

As was shown yesterday, this country is well off the pace on a number of issues. Why should this be any different?

[jourdain2]

No, I can't explain it somehow we (British) have got ourselves so snarled up that we can't see obvious contradictions - such as motorcyclists having to remove helmets on entering shops, but full veils are waved though. I remember there was a to-do in Bradford over bus-passes. At first, veiled pictures were forbidden, then they were allowed - absolutely anyone could be using the free pass. I lost patience years ago. Heads need to be knocked together and a bit of common sense applied.

[jourdain2]

Retrochic has hit the nail on the head. No millions of euros are spent on translations here, you have to learn French. If not, well then it's tough on you!

[Zeuhl]

Mange tout mon ami, mange tout.

[New Judge]

And it's not only France. Go to a hospital on the Spanish Costas and you will see only one notice written in English: "If you need an interpretor you will need to provide one and pay for it yourself".

Here, I had a letter from my GP requesting that I provide them with information (some of which cannot possibly change such as my date of birth) so that they can "update their records". One of the questions was "do you require an interpretor?". I answered "No, so long as the doctor I see can speak reasonable English". The form was returned to me with a red ring round the question and a note asking me to answer it "fully". I didn't know how much more fully I could answer the question so the form went in the bin.

This country needs to shape up, concentrate its scarce resources on British taxpayers and encourage a culture that supports British values. Wearing a face mask in public is redolent of people throwing Molotov cocktails during street riots and not the sort of thing many people like to see in their neighbourhoods.

[ludwig]

// I didn't know how much more fully I could answer the question so the form went in the bin. //

You do make me laugh NJ, and I mean that in a good way.

[New Judge]

Glad to have brightened up your day, Ludwig !! :-)

[jourdain2]

Zeuhyl - c'est vrai, mon ami.

[jourdain2]

Well done New Judge! I used to answer ethnicity forms with 'none of the above, I am of ancient Celtic/British descent with a touch of Viking'....... I hope it snarled up their computers a bit.