FRANCE WILL RESPECT SENTIMENTS OF SIKHS: CHIRAC

''You can assure the Sikh community, on my behalf,
that their sentiments will be taken care of."

As posted earlier here, that was Jack on February 20, 2006 soaping Lal Krishna Advani, BJP opposition leader in the Lok Sabha (House of the People), the lower house in the Parliament of India.

Ah, but promises made in India, well, those are last month's promises.

FRENCH SIKHS MUST REMOVE TURBANS FOR DRIVING LICENCE PHOTOS

March 7, 2006 (Guardian/AP) - France's highest administrative body ruled yesterday that Sikhs must remove their turbans for driving licence photos, calling it a question of public security and not a restriction on freedom of religion. The Council of State's ruling reversed an earlier decision in favour of Shingara Mann Singh, a French citizen who refused to take off his turban for a photo in 2004.

While the turban is an article of faith for Sikhs, the council ruled the requirement was necessary for "the interests of public security and protection of order".

We are not sure what the Council of State understands by "article of faith". We surmise such an article to be an enjoinment of a belief or a practice conforming the believer to a religion. Without getting into the right or wrong of the restriction, how can the Council recognize the dastar as an "article of faith", that is a sacramental necessary to the practice of the Sikh religion, then rule restricting that sacramental is not a restriction on the "freedom of religion"? Instead of ruling extraordinary circumstances (scil., "public security") necessitate the restriction and leaving it at that, the Council so rules and then pronounces not a feather out of place in the free practice of religion.

This is perhaps the single most annoying affectation of the French, sloppy discursive double-talk fobbed off as so much nuance.

Mr Singh's lawyer, Patrice Spinosi, warned that his client may take the case to other tribunals such as the European Court of Human Rights.

Perhaps had India bought a few of these -- just one, a single face-saving purchase! -- perhaps, M. Singh would have fared better before the Council.

We only mean to suggest that French principles in law and in spirit are [Pause for le mot juste.] plastic.

FRENCH SIKHS APPEAL ON TURBAN BAN

March 7, 2006 (BBC) - French Sikhs have appealed to President Jacques Chirac over a ruling that they must remove their turbans for driver's licence photographs. ... The French branch of United Sikhs has called on Mr Chirac to intervene in the matter.

Once on Jack's appointment calendar, the United Sikhs might consider placing an order for an A380 to speed things along.

We only mean to suggest that Jack, the master of plastic extenuation, can be [Pause for le seul mot juste.] bought.

Bonne chance !

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