Edward Cody
VENISSIEUX, France — It was market day on Place Leon Sublet, the main square in this little working-class town southeast of Lyon. In the shadow of an old Catholic church, unhurried shoppers wandered the food stalls.
It could have been a portrait of France at its most traditional, except that many of the women wore robes down to their ankles and long scarves to conceal their hair.
Then along came a woman shrouded head to toe in black. Only her eyes were visible through a narrow slit in her veil.
French people have long been accustomed to Muslim women wearing head scarves and long dresses. But the sight of women covered by black veils has become the latest test of France's uneasy role as host to the largest Muslim population in Europe, nearly 6 million out of France's population of about 64 million. Because of its stark distinction from the usual attire of European women, the full veil has generated a public outcry, with some saying it is a symbol of an assault on France's secular values.
"It's ridiculous," said Jose Aparecio, 66, a retired plumber. "I don't know what they're trying to prove."
Responding to the swell of concern, President Nicolas Sarkozy said in June that "the burqa is not welcome" in France.
Last month the National Assembly, or parliament, named a commission of inquiry to weigh whether full-length Muslim veils should be outlawed.
The prospect of new legislation revived resentment, still lingering among Muslims here, over a ban enacted in 2004 against female students wearing scarves to cover their hair in public schools. Although France's main Muslim organizations have not endorsed full veils, calling them a "marginal phenomenon," they have criticized the possibility of restrictive laws as further stigmatization of Muslims trying to find a place in the French landscape.
"A very large majority of us only wish to live our religion in moderation and tolerance," Mohamed Moussaoui, head of the French Muslim Religion Council, said in a statement to Le Point magazine. "Naming a commission of inquiry corresponds to something heavy, which is normally reserved for major subjects affecting society."
Most of the outrage has centered on women's rights, based on a supposition that women who wear full veils are forced to do so by their husbands. The Council of State, France's highest administrative tribunal, upheld the government's refusal to naturalize a veiled Moroccan woman because it said her attire "clashed with the values of a democratic society and the principle of sexual equality."
But more broadly, the full-length veil has been interpreted as defying the ideal of integration, which traditionally has underpinned France's attitude toward immigrants. By refusing to blend in, women wearing such attire have generated resentment among some French people uncomfortable with an unaccustomed religion in their midst.
Resentment also has spread among some Muslim immigrants, particularly the elderly, who from humble beginnings worked to become part of the society and now see fellow Muslims challenging their adopted values.
"If they don't like it here, they can always leave," said Mustafa Zemaoui, 65, a retired locksmith.
Although concern has been brewing for months, the recent outcry was set off by Andre Gerin, who until recently was mayor of Venissieux and is still its member of parliament. Gerin, 63, a former autoworker and Communist Party veteran, said his experience here showed him that the veil is "the tip of an iceberg," behind which lurks a small core of Muslim fundamentalists determined to impose its ways on French society.
Backed by about 90 fellow lawmakers, Gerin introduced a resolution in June asking for the commission of inquiry. With Sarkozy's comments in the background, the commission was set up, scheduling hearings after the August holidays and promising to issue recommendations by year's end.
"The vision of these imprisoned women is already intolerable for us when they come from Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia or certain other Arab countries," the resolution said, suggesting the likely outcome of its work. "It is totally unacceptable on the soil of the French Republic."
The Interior Ministry's internal intelligence services estimated last month that fewer than 400 women wear the full veil in France; most are native-born citizens, and some are recent converts. The decision to adopt such garb, the ministry's analysts said, often arises from a desire to provoke French society rather than submit to husbands or fathers.
Gerin said he thinks the ministry estimates are too low but that in any case, the government has underestimated the danger posed by fundamentalist thought in France. The older generation of Muslims, immigrants from Algeria or Morocco seeking to integrate, has been challenged by younger radicals, born in France but often trained in Saudi Arabia or Pakistan, he said.
"They question everything," he said.
Published August 12, 2009, Statesman
