Skip to main content

French police arrest burqa ban protesters

From Niki Cook, CNN
There were demonstrations Sunday in Paris against the burka and niqab ban due to start on Monday in France. File photo.
  • Several dozen people try to hold an unauthorized march against the ban on veils
  • They are all arrested for refusing to leave the scene, police say
  • The controversial French ban comes into effect on Monday
  • French officials cite national identity and security as reasons for the ban
  • Islam
  • Religion

Paris (CNN) -- Police in Paris arrested dozens of people for trying to hold an unauthorized demonstration to protest a ban on the wearing of Islamic veils such as burqas, they said Sunday.

France's controversial ban on the burqa and niqab takes effect on Monday.

A total of 59 people showed up at the scene of the planned march, which did not have police approval, authorities said. All were detained for refusing to leave the scene on Saturday.

Five were detained overnight because they did not have proper identification, and two of them are still in custody, police said Sunday afternoon.

Two other people, including the Britain-based radical Muslim Anjem Choudhury, were arrested while traveling to the planned demonstration Saturday, police said Sunday.

The organizers were denied permission to march because they are known Islamic extremists who could have promoted racial hatred, because they have been arrested in the past, and because of the likelihood that the protest would provoke a counter-demonstration that could lead to violence, police said.

A silent protest march against the burqa ban is planned for Monday morning in Paris. That demonstration, which was organized independently of the unauthorized Saturday protest, has been approved.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon last month defended the ban as being in keeping with national values.

"The French Republic lives in a bare-headed fashion," he said in an official government newspaper explaining the law.


The law was passed in October but included a six-month period to inform people of the penalty before it went into effect.


Forcing a woman to wear a niqab or a burqa is punishable by a year in prison and a 30,000 euro fine (about $43,400). Forcing a minor to do the same thing is punishable by two years in prison and 60,000 euro.


The practice has sparked a debate over religious freedom.










"The ban does not target the wearing of a headscarf, head-gear, scarf or glasses, as long as the accessories do not prevent the person from being identified," the Interior Ministry said in a statement

Quick Job Search