A woman driver wearing an Islamic face veil has been fined by French police for not having a clear field of vision. The fine was small, but it garnered big attention Friday and may illustrate what is to come as the president pushes to outlaw the veils nationwide.
Traffic police in the western city of Nantes fined the 31-year-old woman €22 ($29) in early April, her lawyer said. The fine was based on a rule that says drivers should have freedom of movement and a sufficient field of vision, lawyer Jean-Michel Pollono said.
But wait, there's more:
As the case escalated in the media spotlight, Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux's office said he wrote to his counterpart at the Immigration Ministry to request a study into whether the woman's Algerian-born husband could be stripped of his French nationality for suspected illegal behaviour.
In the letter to Immigration Minister Eric Besson, Hortefeux said the man was suspected of polygamy and fraud of state social services by allegedly benefitting from state financial aid for single parents paid to each of his four wives -- all of whom wear veils.
