The French cabinet has approved a draft law to ban the wearing of full-face veils in public spaces, opening the way for the text to go before parliament in July.
The bill calls for $185 fines and, in some cases, 'citizenship classes' for women do not 'comply' with the ban.
Increasing harassment
Some veil wearers in France say they have been increasingly harassed since debate over the planned law began nearly a year ago.
The bill is set to go before parliament in July and is widely expected to become law.
The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy said last June that such veils are "not welcome" in France and that he wants a law banning them on the books as soon as possible.
Last month, Belgian politicians voted overwhelmingly to ban the wearing of full face veils in public.
France banned headscarves and other "ostentatious" religious symbols, from classrooms in 2004.
Some wearers of the veil in France say if the law is passed and they are arrested they will take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Draft law risks
The French government risks running up against the constitution following a warning in March from the Council of State, France's highest administrative body.
The council said such a ban was likely to violate the French constitution and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
"There appears ... to be no legally unchallengeable justification for carrying out such a ban," it said.
Muslim leaders have warned that a ban on the full veil risks stigmatizing all Muslims.
PHOTO CAPTION
A woman wearing a Niqab participates in a protest in Tours, central France, on February 6.
Agencies