France

[Parts]

What the hell is going on in France never really think of these things happening there 

VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France - Youths rampaged for a third night in the tough suburbs north of Paris and violence spread to a southern city late Tuesday as police struggled to contain rioters who have burned cars and buildings and — in an ominous turn — shot at officers.

A senior police union official warned that "urban guerrillas" had joined the unrest, saying the violence was worse than during three weeks of rioting that raged around French cities in 2005, when firearms were rarely used.

Bands of young people set more cars on fire in and around Villiers-le-Bel, the Paris suburb where the latest trouble first erupted, and 22 youths were taken into custody, the regional government said. In the southern city of Toulouse, 20 cars were set ablaze, and fires at two libraries were quickly brought under control, police said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071128/ap_on_re_eu/france_violence;_ylt=Ans.HMg2ysag.VKgDn029i6s0NUE

[SovaNu]

eh, it's just france.

 

[Parts]

But they are supposed to be civilized

[SovaNu]

too much cheese and wine has gone to their collective head. it's all those brie fumes.

[Parts]

My dog Marly came from a French woman moving back they would not allow it in the country because it is part pit bull

[duncvis]

But they are supposed to be civilized

predictable really. a right wing president was elected and immediately started throwing bits of the social contract out of the window. cue strikes, rioting, etc. happened in the thatcher years in england.

[richard]

dude all of europe is fucked up. the only cool countries are suprsie! norway and switzerland

[Rabbit From Hell]

and 22 youths were taken into custody

Either they ran out of white flags or they broke their surrenderin' hand.

[SovaNu]

dude all of europe is fucked up. the only cool countries are suprsie! norway and switzerland

untrue! the whole of scandinavia is cool.

[Dexter Morgan]

Russia is the coolest

[SovaNu]

russia is teh coldest.

[Semicolon]

European Court upholds French full veil ban

The French full veil ban upheld was upheld by the European court

The European Court of Human Rights has upheld a ban by France on wearing the Muslim full-face veil - the niqab.

A case was brought by a 24-year-old French woman, who argued that the ban on wearing the veil in public violated her freedom of religion and expression.

French law says nobody can wear in a public space clothing intended to conceal the face. The penalty for doing so can be a 150-euro fine (£120; $205).

The 2010 law came in under former conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.

A breach of the ban can also mean a wearer having to undergo citizenship instruction.

France has about five million Muslims - the largest Muslim minority in Western Europe - but it is thought only about 2,000 women wear full veils.

The court ruled that the ban "was not expressly based on the religious connotation of the clothing in question but solely on the fact that it concealed the face". The Strasbourg judges' decision is final - there is no appeal against it.

A court statement said the ruling also "took into account the state's submission that the face played a significant role in social interaction".

"The Court was also able to understand the view that individuals might not wish to see, in places open to all, practices or attitudes which would fundamentally call into question the possibility of open interpersonal relationships, which, by virtue of an established consensus, formed an indispensable element of community life within the society in question."

Some face coverings, including motorbike helmets, are exempted from the French ban.

The woman, identified only by the initials SAS, took her case to the European Court in 2011. She said she was under no family pressure to wear the niqab, but chose to do so as a matter of religious freedom, as a devout Muslim.

France sets precedent

France was the first European country in modern times to ban public wearing of the full-face veil. Belgium adopted a similar ban in 2011.

In Spain, the city of Barcelona and some other towns have brought in similar bans, as have some towns in Italy.

No such general ban applies in the UK, but institutions have discretion to impose their own dress codes.

The French government argues that the ban has wide public support. The authorities see the full-face veil not only as an affront to French secular values but also as a potential security risk, as it conceals a person's identity.

In the past, the European Court has sided with French secularism - it also ruled in favour of the government's ban on headscarves in schools.

But in 2010, the judges did find against Turkey, ruling that religious garments were not in themselves a threat to public order.

Source

[odeon]

That's rather worrying for a mummy. And the invisible man, even though he can easily handle the situation if he is stopped by the police.

[Parts]

The lady can just wear a motorcycle helmet all the time instead
 

Some face coverings, including motorbike helmets, are exempted from the French ban.

[Semicolon]

The lady can just wear a motorcycle helmet all the time instead
 

Some face coverings, including motorbike helmets, are exempted from the French ban.

I wonder what "citizenship instruction" is and whether it involves the Ludovico technique.

The Court was also able to understand the view that individuals might not wish to see, in places open to all, practices or attitudes which would fundamentally call into question the possibility of open interpersonal relationships, which, by virtue of an established consensus, formed an indispensable element of community life within the society in question.

It sounds like the ruling is based on the worry that French Muslims won't be able to make friends.