MAIL ONLINE: Muslim men who force their wives to wear a burkha are not welcome in France, the country's justice minister has said.
Michelle Alliot-Marie said husbands making their wives wear a full body coverings did not 'share the nation's values'.
They would have their citizenship requests rejected, she said.
Her remarks come as a French government committee is considering whether to make it illegal to wear burkhas and niqabs on the streets of France.
The burkha is a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan with a mesh screen over the eyes, and the niqab is a full-body veil with slits for the eyes.
President Nicolas Sarkozy called them 'a sign of subservience and debasement that imprisoned women', saying they were not not welcome in France.
The country's immigration minister Eric Besson described them as 'an affront to national identity'.
Women's rights groups and left wing MPs went even further, describing them as a 'walking coffin'.
Mrs Alliot-Marie said today she would await the findings of the commission on the burkha, due later this month.
But she added: 'There are still a certain number of basics on which we must stand firm.
'The wearing of the niqab or burkha is a problem that affects our ability to live together, the values of the republic and in particular human dignity.
'For instance, someone who would be seeking French citizenship and whose wife wears the full veil is someone who would not appear to be sharing the values of our country.
'Therefore in a case like that one, we would reject his request.' >>> Ian Sparks | Thursday, December 10, 2009
