The French parliament is due to begin a debate on plans to ban the wearing of full Islamic veils in public. The legislation in front of the lower house will make it illegal to wear the niqab or burka anywhere in public. It envisages fines of about 150 euros (119) for women who break the law, with tougher penalties for men found to be pressuring their wife or sister. A vote on the proposed legislation will be taken next week before a full senate vote in September. The veil ban, which has the backing of President Nicolas Sarkozy, is also winning support in other parts of Europe. Belgium's lower house has approved a similar measure and Spain's senate recently narrowly voted to impose a ban too.
