Chirac backs ban on veil
French President Jacques Chirac last week announced his support for a ban on the wearing of the Muslim veil in French public institutions, including schools, writes David Tresilian from Paris

National cohesion versus the veil
The problem is not the Islamic headscarf, it is how to preserve France's national cohesion, a leading French politician told Omayma Abdel-Latif

Unveiling France
The French president rules out the veil, leaving France's Muslim women in a quandary, writes Jeremy Landor from Paris