France which previously cracked down on the wearing of religious symbols of all kinds is at it once again. This concerns the wearing of a face veil by an Islamic woman. There is no doubt that there are situations where this veil just does not fit into Western culture, namely when a photo on a driver’s license is required. A photo with a veil is totally useless and the license might as well be devoid of any photo.

Recently in France the government has gone a step farther down the road. An Islamic woman was fined for wearing the “Niqab” in public while driving. The “Niqab” covers the entire face of a woman leaving the eyes only exposed, which does not help much in identification if that becomes necessary. The incident took place in the city of Nantes and the fine was for about 20 Euros.

President Sarkozy has recently proposed the banning of the veil in public. However, in this case the police charged that driving in this condition is dangerous to her and to other drivers because the vision of the driver is restricted. The case is being appealed and the controversy over the veil will continue on account of the growing Islamic population throughout France and most of Europe.