re: #88 Lupin

It’s a little more complicated.

There is a French law banning face covering (2010), including masks, helmets, balaclavas, niqābs and other veils covering the face in public places (with some exceptions). The ban applies to the burqa, but only if it covers the face.

Prior to that there was/is another law passed in 2004 that banned conspicuous religious symbols, but only applicable in schools. It expands on principles found in the French Constitutional regarding the strict separation of state and religion. The European Court found it OK as long as it applied only to public services/spaces.

At the end of the day, when it comes to freedom(s) we have CHARLIE-HEBDO, and you don’t, and even at the time of the massacre, most American newspapers self-censored their reporting. Whether or not this is a good barometer of freedom I don’t know, but IMHO it’s telling.

Is CHARLIE-HEBDO a major newspaper? As for what we have, I guarantee you there are numerous smaller publications that make fun of all religions. Even South Park got in on the act, Viacom just filtered it at the last moment.

I’m sure we could argue this over and over, but, at the end of the day, you still have restrictions we don’t, and they prevent some things that we here would like to find a way to prevent without hurting other speech. Because, what happens when an authoritarian tries to take over the country, kind of like what happened on your continent in the 1920s and 30s?