Saudi women refused entry to France after declining to 'unveil' at airport
PA
Three Saudi women have been refused entry into France after they all declined to take off their face veils (niqab) for immigration officials.
According to Al Bawaba, the women had to get a return flight back to Doha that same evening.
They arrived at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on a Qatar Airways flight at 2.30pm, but were denied entry when police at border controls could not see their faces.
An airport source told the site: "They were issued a fine, according to the law."
Nicolas Sarkozy introduced the ban on face veils in April 2011, and violations are punishable by a fine of up to 150 euros.
According to the Daily Mail, when the ban on Islamic head coverings was introduced, it was described as being aimed at stopping criminals, from terrorists to shoplifters, disguising their faces from security staff.
France was the first country in Europe to ban the niqab and burka, but similar legislation has since been passed in Belgium and Holland.
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