French Police Fined Driver Wearing Islamic Face Veil

A lawyer says a woman driving her car while wearing an Islamic face veil has been fined by French police for not having a clear field of vision.

Photo: French Police Fined Driver Wearing Islamic Face Veil

Lawyer Jean-Michel Pollono says traffic police in the western city of Nantes fined his client euro22 ($29) in early April. The fine was based on a rule that says drivers should have "freedom of movement and a sufficient field of vision," The Associated Press reports.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's government has said it will push ahead with a ban on wearing a full-face veil in public, despite a warning from state judicial experts that such a law could be unconstitutional.

There is strong support in parliament for such a ban and the government is determined to press on with a law, which it says would affect only around 2,000 Muslim French women who currently cover their faces.

Mr Pollono says he had complained formally to the state prosecutor, ABC Online reports.