Islamic veil fine overturned

A French court annulled a fine given to a woman driver wearing an Islamic face veil, months before a ban on wearing the garments goes into effect.

Traffic police in Nantes fined 31-year-old Sandrine Mouleres €22 ($37) in April, saying she did not have a clear field of vision, but the court quashed the fine yesterday.

Jean-Michel Pollono, Mouleres' attorney, said the court in Nantes had ruled that "we are in a free country, and as a result, everything that isn't forbidden is allowed".