To paraphrase David Mitchell in his excellent piece on the Guardian CIF website, sometimes the French do something a bit mental. This time, it's banning the Burqa, the muslim head-dress for women that completely covers the face. Governments and legislatures should have no say in what civilians wear, excluding public safety, or private property (such as not wearing a motorcycle helmet in a bank).
I won't repeat what's already been said by David, suffice to say that while it's patently wrong to force someone (women or not) to wear something against their will, and it seems rather absurd to insist that someone cover their face in public for any reason other than it being very cold indeed, it's even more wrong for a government to begin legislating on items of clothing. Admittedly, we have laws about indecent exposure, but they are a separate issue, and people will have their own opinions. This particular piece of legislation covers Burqas, and Burqas only (as far as I'm aware). Other face-covering items of clothing, religious or not, are not included. So it introduces the ridiculous possibility of two people walking along the street, one voluntarily wearing a Burqa, and one (maybe against their will) wearing a balaclava - but it's the one wearing the Burqa that receives a fine.
Ultimately, the issue seems to be about bashing Islam, rather than about seriously dealing with the underlying issues. If you want to combat women being forced to wear clothing against their will, legislate against it, and rigorously enforce the law. If you feel that people have to show their faces in public at all times, legislate that way (although I'd disagree with that, too).
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