France steps closer to banning the Islamic face veils in public, reports Natasha Lehrer
The reignition of the burka debate in France reflects the political class’s fears for the state’s treasured “laïcité”, writes Agnès Poirier
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Iran has freed on bail a 24-year-old French university lecturer who was charged with spying after last month’s presidential election. A statement from the French presidency said Clotilde Reiss was in good health and would stay at the French embassy in Tehran awaiting a verdict in her trial. Read more here
French officials have banned a Muslim woman from swimming in a public pool while wearing a swimsuit that covers her entire body. The woman known only as Carole had previously swum in July in the pool in Emerainville, east of Paris, in the “burkini” – a loose-fitting garment resembling a wetsuit with a hood. The management said this was for hygiene reasons, but she believes it was a political problem. Read more here