French ban on face covering different from French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
Background
Initial instances of the French government's actions towards a full face covering ban can be traced back to the "Scarf Affair" of 1989.   Under this law, hijabs were no longer allowed to be worn in French public schools.  Permission was granted to school administrators to declare when this law was being violated by students. Lack of adherence to the bill led to the adaption of a nationwide and religiously consistent plan.The Law of Secularity and Conspicuous Religious Symbols in Schools was passed in September 2004.  This law stated all religious items could no longer be worn in public schools including but not limited to: kippahs, Catholic crosses, and Muslim religious attire. Despite covering all religions, the law seemed to unevenly target Muslim individuals.The French Parliament began an initial inquiry on the issue shortly after President Nicolas Sarkozy stated in June 2009 that religious face veils were "not welcome" within France. Sarkozy had stated that the law is to protect women from being forced to cover their faces and to uphold France's secular values. A poll carried out by Pew Research Center leading up to the vote indicated that 80% of French voters supported the ban. It was estimated that about 2,000 women wore the head coverings to be banned by this bill.In 2010, the Belgian lower house of parliament approved a bill to ban facial coverings, but this was not voted into law as the Belgian government fell before the Senate could vote on it. As of 2010, when the French law was being debated, partial bans were being discussed in the Netherlands and Spain; bans had been announced locally in Italy but later declared unconstitutional, leading to a national law being proposed; and public debate on the issue was starting in Austria, while Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland did not consider legislation, although in the UK, directives had been issued leaving the issue to the discretion of school directors and magistrates.Fadela Amara, who had recently served as a junior minister in the French government and is a Muslim, had previously declared: "The veil is the visible symbol of the subjugation of women, and therefore has no place in the mixed, secular spaces of France's state school system."These actions taken by the government stem from the long history of separation between Church and state experienced in France. Established in 1905, Laïcité, the French term for separation of church and state governs that no religion can influence government affairs and policies. Anastasia Comobiso writes regarding the topic, "The State abolishes the particular rights granted to institutions or religious congregations, and confines religion itself to personal and private subjectivity". Muslim face coverings, according to the French government, hinder universal women's rights and threaten the safety of the public.