Sarkozy Wants Ban of Full Veils

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France told his cabinet on Wednesday that he would put forward a bill in May to ban the wearing of the full veil in public places in France, despite a warning from senior legal authorities that the bill may be unconstitutional.

Mr. Sarkozy wants a bill that goes farther than initial proposals, including a ban on wearing the full veil — the niqab, which leaves only the eyes uncovered, and the burqa, which is almost unknown in France — from streets, markets and shops, according to his spokesman, Luc Chatel.

The full veil “hurts the dignity of women and is unacceptable in French society,” Mr. Chatel quoted Mr. Sarkozy as telling the cabinet. The idea of a ban is popular with the French and with his own political party, while Mr. Sarkozy’s own standing in the opinion polls has rarely been lower.

An earlier proposal from a panel of the National Assembly suggested a bill banning the full veil in public places belonging to the state, like schools and public buildings, and in areas where facial recognition is vital for security reasons: airports, banks and even public transport.

Mr. Sarkozy’s push for broader restrictions was seen as a challenge to the Council of State, France’s top administrative authority, which warned in March that “a general and absolute ban on the full veil as such can have no incontestable judicial basis” and that it could be thrown out by the courts.

The council said it would be clearer legally to simply issue an order that women would have to uncover their faces for identity checks as required. A law had to be based on the protection of public order, the council said, not on the grounds of personal dignity.

Jean Leonetti, a deputy of the ruling party, said, “The ban must be total, or it’s incomprehensible.”

The prime minister, François Fillon, said, “We’re ready to take the legal risks because we think the game is worth the candle.”

Fewer than 2,000 women in France wear a version of the full veil, and many of them are French women who have converted to Islam. The full veil is seen here as a sign of a more fundamentalist Islam, known as Salafism, which the government is trying to undercut. On the left, the veil is seen as repressive and a violation of women’s rights, even though many women who wear the veil insist that they are doing it as a free choice and see a ban as a restriction of their liberty.

In 2004, France banned the wearing of head scarves in public schools, but at the same time banned all signs of religious affiliation, so the law did not legally at least single out Muslims, as a ban on the full veil would seem to do.

Belgium is also preparing to vote on legislation to ban the full veil, with a fine of up to $35 and possible seven-day jail term for offenders who do not have police permission to wear it.