What are the rules of head coverings in France?

Answer 1

By law, it is forbidden to wear anything that conceals the face (i.e. masks, balaclavas, face veils). The purpose of the legislator is that everyone should be identifiable. An exception is made for carnival masks.

From a religious point a view: it is forbidden to display "conspiscuous signs" (large Christian crosses, Jewish skullcaps, turbans, Burqah and Niqaabs) of one's religion in the public space, especially schools. This aims to reduce proselytism and tensions between communities. People wear whatever they like in their own home.

Wearing discreet signs (necklaces with a small Christian cross, a Fatima hand, a star of David) is permitted at all times. Skullcaps on the way to the synagogue, Islamic dress on the way to the mosque, are not questioned. It is permitted to wear a hijab, a Shayla, a Khimar, Jilbab, Al-Amira, as long as an additional veil does not conceal one's face.

In the population at large (not speaking here from the point of view of the law), wearing a discreet veil is well accepted. That was standard clothing thirty years ago for French women, as well as for women of Muslim heritage, (predominantly of Algerian or Morrocan descent). Many are still not comfortable with the idea of full-face-veils, which are not viewed as traditional, but rather seen as a stance against mainstream society.