Straitjacket - French minister denounces burqa

Ms Amara, who is a French-born Muslim of Algerian parentage, said she supported the ruling in June by France's highest administrative court, the Conseil d'Etat.

"The burqa is a prison, it's a straightjacket," she told Le Parisien.

"It is not a religious insignia but the insignia of a totalitarian political project that advocates inequality between the sexes and which is totally devoid of democracy."

The minister said she hoped the court's ruling might in future "dissuade certain fanatics from imposing the burqa on their wives".

Ms Amara, who is also a prominent women's rights campaigner, said she made no distinction between the veil and the burqa, describing both as symbols of oppression for women.

"It's just a question of centimetres of fabric," she added.

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