Veil advocate to run for President in France
A Frenchwoman who wears an Islamic face veil, despite a nationwide ban, wants to run for president in next year’s elections.
Kenza Drider said she wants to defend the rights of all French women.
She is among a group of women mounting an attack on the law that has banned Muslim face veils from the streets of France since April. They want to prove the measure contravenes fundamental rights.
The law’s backers, including President Nicolas Sarkozy, say the veils imprison women.
Ms Drider said she plans to declare her candidacy tomorrow in Meaux, a city east of Paris run by top conservative politician and Sarkozy ally Jean-Francois Cope, who championed the veil ban.
Two other women stopped for wearing veils are facing trial tomorrow, also in Meaux.
