French woman fined for driving in a burka

A Muslim woman has been fined for driving in France while wearing a burka.

Police in Nantes told her the garment, which has a narrow slit for the eyes, "reduced her field of vision".

The 31-year-old woman said it was "discrimination, pure and simple" and that she was considering taking the police to court.

"I showed them my car paperwork and unveiled myself right there so I could be identified," she said. "And at that point one policeman said I was being given a penalty notice due to my clothing. I told him he had no right to that."

Her lawyer, Jean-Michel Pollono, said: "We live in a free country and wearing a full face veil is still legal, as far as I know. We shall be objecting to paying any fine are considering counter legal action for discrimination."

A senior police spokesman said: "This officer made a legitimate judgement in the course of his job. He estimated that under the circumstances, her clothing presented a safety risk."

French MPs will vote next month on whether to ban the burka and niqab full face veil from public places. Husbands who force wives to wear burkas could be jailed.

Nicolas Sarkozy has branded the garments a "sign of debasement", and immigration minister Eric Besson has called the burka "a walking coffin".

Belgium was due to decide on banning burkas yesterday but the debate was stopped after the collapse of the country's coalition government.