France council advises against full veil ban http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2010/03/france-council-advises-against-full.php

The France Council of State [official website, in French] on Tuesday advised the French government [report, PDF; in French] that a complete ban on full Islamic veils risks violating the French Constitution [text] and the European Convention on Human Rights [text]. The government requested that the council, the country's highest administrative court, review the proposed ban before drawing up legislation.

The government has already banned public officials from wearing veils while operating in their official capacity, and also prohibits veils in public schools. The council held that even with the existence of these partial bans, which are based on France's secular principles, it could find no legal basis for a complete ban on veils in public places