France’s face-veil ban spurs defiance

 
After more than a year of controversy, the ban on full face veil in France has just come into effect.

But some women are already vowing to defy the restriction, as Al Jazeera’s Tim Friend reports from Paris.

As the far right gains increasing popularity in France, President Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused of trying to win back votes in the run-up to next year’s presidential election by deliberately stigmatising Muslims.

But the French government vehemently denies this, and argues that the full veil is a symbol of male oppression.