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French Assembly Votes to Ban Religious Symbols in Schools

The 494-to-36 vote, with 31 abstentions, came hours after the minister of national education, Luc Ferry, said in a radio interview that the law would stretch much further than religious symbols and require all students to attend physical education classes and accept what is taught on the Holocaust and human reproduction.

Three weeks ago, Mr. Ferry, a philosopher and best-selling author, said bandannas and excessive hairiness would be banned from public schools if they were considered religious signs.

The draft law bans “ostensibly” religious signs, which have been defined by President Jacques Chirac and a government advisory commission as Islamic head scarves, Christian crosses that are too large in size and Jewish skullcaps. Sikh turbans are also likely to be included.

What backlash? Diners say oui to French cuisine

French eateries in the Los Angeles area — from $100-a-plate haute cuisine to $20 bistros — seem to be emerging as the next big dining trend, an industry consultant says.

“Anti-French feelings may be high,” says Ron Paul, president of Technomic, a restaurant consulting firm. “But the palate doesn’t play politics. French dining is doing very, very well.”

Sure, the nation’s politics swung anti-French last year when France loudly protested the Iraq war. Sales of French wine hit the skids.

So did business at some French restaurants. But a surprising number of them, particularly on the West Coast, have entered 2004 standing taller than the Eiffel Tower.

Debate over religious symbols divides France

France’s National Assembly is expected Tuesday to approve a controversial bill, drafted by President Jacques Chirac’s conservative cabinet, that would ban all conspicuous religious dress, and symbols, in public secondary schools.

And while the prohibition would affect large Christian crosses as well as Jewish skullcaps, the target has been the nation’s growing Muslim population.

The bill’s co-author, Professor Gilles Kepel, told NBC News that the choice was critical for the French government: Either French state schools crack down on religious dress and symbols, or those schools will no longer function as the “learning fields’’ of a free, French and secular society.

Driving in France for British drivers

French police are set to get the power to deprive British drivers of their licences.

Motorists who commit minor traffic offences in France could for the first time incur points on their licences at home.

The plan is part of a major clampdown on foreign drivers in France and would see them punished for offences including speeding and illegal parking.

Penalties imposed in France would contribute to the 12 points needed to incur a driving ban in this country.

United States and France: Together Again Over Lunch

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 — A year before, the two men had faced off across the Security Council with icy stares and chilly comments. Back together again at the United Nations on Friday, Colin L. Powell, the American secretary of state, and Dominique de Villepin, the French foreign minister, had nothing but warm words.

They were drawn here by a shared interest in a donors’ conference held by the United Nations, the World Bank and the United States that raised $520 million for war-ravaged Liberia. They used the occasion to meet over a working lunch at the Waldorf Towers official residence of the United States ambassador to the United Nations, John D. Negroponte, and to make common cause on the issue that had separated them last February — Iraq.