French veil ban set to pass lower house of parliament, but legal challenges likely later

French parliament set to vote on veil ban

PARIS — France’s lower house of parliament looks set to approve a ban on face-covering veils Tuesday, and the Senate is likely to follow in September.

Polls show voters overwhelmingly support a ban in a country where there are an estimated 5 million Muslims, and where mainstream society has struggled to integrate generations of immigrants.

But lawyers say the ban could be shot down by France’s constitutional watchdog or the European Court of Human Rights. That could dampen efforts under way in other European countries toward banning the veils.

The niqab and burqa are widely seen in France as a gateway to extremism and an attack on women’s rights and secularism, a central value of modern-day France. Critics say a ban is a cynical ploy to attract far-right voters.