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France refuses citizenship in burqa case

03 February 2010 18:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The row over plans by the French government to partially ban the wearing of the Muslim burqa has taken a new twist, APA reports quoting Euronews.
The government is defending a decision to refuse to give citizenship to a foreign man who forces his wife to wear the full-face veil.
It is reported the man from Morocco needed citizenship to settle in France with his French wife.
French Immigration Minister Eric Besson said: â€œHe expressly said that he refused the principle of secularism, that he rejects equality between men and women â€“ he announced very clearly that males and females are not equal â€“ and he admitted that heâ€™s the one who forces his wife to wear the burqa.â€
The governmentâ€™s announcement comes just days after a parliamentary commission called for a new law on the burqa.
Sparking widespread debate, the commission proposed a ban on the veil in public places such as schools, hospitals and government offices.