Paris - In a speech he himself called 'an important moment,'
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday that women wearing the
burqa would not be accepted on French territory.
'The problem of the burqa is not a religious problem, it is a
problem of the dignity of women. It is a symbol of subservience, of
submission. The burqa will not be welcome in our French republic, '
Sarkozy said during his address before a joint session of the two
houses of Parliament in Versailles.
Sarkozy became the first French head of state to address lawmakers
in 150 years. The last French head of state to do so was
Charles-Louis Napoleon, in 1848.
His appearance was made possible by a July 2008 amendment of the
French constitution, which had prohibited a sitting president from
addressing lawmakers.
Sarkozy's comments on the burqa were inspired by a resolution
introduced last week by 58 lawmakers calling for the creation of a
committee of inquiry into the wearing of the burqa on French
territory.
A burqa is the most concealing of all Islamic veils as it covers
the entire face and body, leaving only a mesh screen to see through.
In his address, the French president also vowed to implement a
form of affirmative action to do away with social inequality.
'Who does not see that our model of integration no longer works?'
Sarkozy said. 'To achieve equality, we must know how to give more to
those who have less.'
To attain that goal, a form of affirmative action would be put
into effect that was 'not based on ethnic criteria but on social
criteria,' Sarkozy said.
When US President Barack Obama came to Paris as a presidential
candidate in July 2008, Sarkozy had vowed to implement affirmative
action as had been done in the United States. But he has run up
against widespread opposition to the idea.
The project for equality would be a 'top priority' of his new
government, Sarkozy said, and announced that a ministerial re-shuffle
would be announced Wednesday.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story