http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,11882,1145402,00.html
The French national assembly voted overwhelmingly yesterday in favour of a ban on Islamic veils in state schools, despite new warnings from religious leaders that the law would persecute Muslims and encourage fundamentalism.
After 21 hours of parliamentary speeches and months of heated national debate, MPs voted 494-36 in favour of banning “conspicuous” religious symbols in the schools. The law, to be ratified by the senate next month, will come into force in September. “This law is indispensable for us,” said Martine David, a Socialist MP, adding that teachers “need a clear judicial framework”. The house speaker, Jean-Louis Debr