Wear a veil - pay 150 euros

French authorities warn Muslim women

Two apparently contradictory messages arrived almost simultaneously from France. On Tuesday afternoon, the lower house of the French parliament banned the wearing of “clothing that completely conceals the face” in public. The Upper House is due to deliver a verdict in September. If she agrees, the law will come into force in 2011.

The main targets of legislators who took advantage of this politically correct formulation were Iranian burqas, Arab niqabs and Afghan burkas - in general, the traditional clothing of Muslim women. But yesterday morning, for the first time, not only French soldiers, but also columns from 13 countries - former African colonies of France - took part in the military parade on the Champs Elysees on the occasion of Bastille Day. President Nicolas Sarkozy greeted them from the podium.

It would seem, how are these two events connected? Where is the logic here? However, many human rights activists declared that France, as a former colonial country, did not have the right to recall in such a unique way those moments of its recent history that, perhaps, are not worth being proud of. And although President Sarkozy condemned “any colonial nostalgia,” it was he who initiated the bill banning the veil last year. The question involuntarily arises: is the French state for the dominance of European culture or against it?

In general, we can say that the French chose convenience. A lady covered from head to toe in clothing is a sight that disturbs and irritates the average citizen. In addition, this is a problem for the police, who are always worried when it is impossible to quickly find out the identity of a person.

And the “civilizing mission” in the colonies does not evoke much nostalgia, since at one time it was associated with tedious efforts and sacrifices for France. This year marks half a century since the independence of most French colonies in Africa was declared in 1960. In many of them (especially in Algeria, which liberated a little later), maintaining colonial rule with associated administrative, educational and social institutions cost both money and lives. The spirit of the “civilizing mission,” very strong in France at the beginning of the twentieth century, fizzled out by the middle of the century, so that the collapse of the empire proceeded quickly.

The legacy of the empire, however, was a huge population of former colonies who spoke French and dreamed of living in the former metropolis (Russia faces a similar problem today). As a result, in France, with a population of 65 million, up to six million Muslim citizens have appeared over these same fifty years. Meanwhile, over the centuries since the medieval Arab conquests, the French have become accustomed to seeing Muslims only abroad. The appearance of mosques somewhere near Paris or Nantes evokes in the French a subconscious fear of a new invasion, in the manner of the one that the Franks fought off in 732 in the battle with the Arabs at Poitiers. Therefore, when the construction of mosques was banned in Switzerland, Sarkozy expressed the opinion of many, recommending that his fellow citizens “respect the decision of the Swiss people.” Ladies covered from head to toe also look culturally alien. So there was no complete comfort (both to use the colonies and to get “convenient” migrants).

Even the most politically correct politician is forced to take into account the subconscious fears of his electorate, although he tries not to call these fears by their proper names. This was also evident during the vote on the “totally concealing veil” (as the veil is called in France). 335 deputies voted for the ban, and only one voted against it. True, the “greens” boycotted the vote for the “demagogic” law, and the socialists abstained, although they made it clear that the veil was very unpleasant for them too.

Actually, no one really wanted to fight for the right of “women of the East” to wear a veil. Only Amnesty International mumbled something, from whose point of view legislation prohibiting forcing women to hide their faces is quite sufficient. Thus, a respected international organization has placed the public wearing of Muslim clothing on the same level as the liberal laws of some EU countries place prostitution on. It is possible to engage in this activity, but it is impossible to force others to do this activity (that is, pimping).

But the French deputies went a little further. It is punishable not only for being forced to wear a veil (for this you will be punished with a year in prison plus a fine of 30 thousand euros), but also for voluntarily wearing it. A lady in a veil entering, say, a bus will have to pay 150 euros and/or listen to a course of lectures on the rights and responsibilities of French citizens. However, many voters consider this option too soft, calling for an unconditional and complete ban on the veil. In Europe, judging by polls, 82% of the French, 71% of the Germans, 62% of the British and 59% of the Spaniards are in favor of this. They insist on passing prohibitive laws. Modern consumer society seems incapable of more subtle methods - studying the culture of the “other,” persuasion or educational work.

Dmitry BABICH, RIA Novosti columnist, - for Vremya Novostei