(Reuters) - France's interior minister on Monday defended a ban on wearing full-face veils in public after a police check on a Muslim woman caused two nights of rioting near Paris, exposing tensions in immigrant-heavy suburbs.
The 2010 law was brought in by conservative former president Nicolas Sarkozy and targets burqa and niqab garments that conceal the face, rather than the headscarf that is more common among French Muslim women.
A police check on a couple in the southwest suburb of Trappes provoked an angry confrontation that led overnight on Friday to a police station being surrounded by several hundred people, some hurling rocks. Another building was torched in several hours of street violence that led to six arrests.
"Police did their job perfectly," Interior Minister Manuel Valls told RTL radio.
"The law banning full-face veils is a law in the interests of women and against those values having nothing to do with our traditions and values. It must be enforced everywhere," he said.
The town of some 30,000 inhabitants, which has produced celebrities including soccer player Nicolas Anelka, was mostly calm on Monday as tow trucks carted away burnt cars.
Police made two further arrests in raids late on Sunday during which they were pelted with firecrackers from rooftops. Four other youths were due later on Monday to appear before a judge for sentencing.
Full Report: Reuters
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