French ban on veils prompts defiance

About a dozen people protested in front of Notre Dame, saying the ban affronts their freedoms of expression and religion.

One of the veiled women was seen being taken away in a police van. A police officer said she was detained because the protest was not authorized and the woman refused to leave. The police said another woman was also detained for taking part in the unauthorized demonstration.

It was unclear whether the women were fined. The law says veiled women risk a $215 fine or special citizenship classes.

People who force women to don a veil are subject to up to a year in prison and a $43,000 fine, and possibly twice that if the veiled person is a minor.

The law is worded to trip through legal minefields: The words “women,’’ “Muslim’’ and “veil’’ are not used. The law says it is illegal to hide the face in public.

Italy also has a law against concealing the face, for security reasons, but France’s was the first to target veil-wearers.

Moderate Muslim leaders in France and elsewhere agree that Islam does not require women to cover their faces, but many are uncomfortable with banning the veil. Religious leaders have denounced the measure, and are struggling with what to advise the faithful.

The plans for a ban prompted protests in Pakistan last year and warnings from Al Qaeda. It also has devout Muslim tourists skittish, since it applies to visitors.

Authorities estimate that at most 2,000 women in France wear veils. France’s Muslims number at least 5 million, the largest such population in Western Europe.

The ban affects women who wear the niqab, which has just a slit for the eyes, and the burqa, which has a mesh screen over the eyes.

Police said the law will be a challenge to enforce.

Emmanuel Roux of the police union SCPN said police have been instructed not to use force to remove the veils, and that if a woman refuses to remove it, the police officer is to call the prosecutor for further legal action. Only in very extreme cases, he said, would a woman be jailed for refusal to remove a veil.