Europe’s face-veils: a patchwork of bans and allowances
European countries regulate full-face veils with a wide spectrum—from France’s 2011 nationwide ban and Belgium’s fines to Bulgaria’s public-space restriction and Austria’s bans in public life (with 2025 school-headscarf limits), Denmark’s blanket public ban, and Netherlands’ space-specific rules—while some like Sweden maintain broad freedoms and others rely on local decisions; Portugal recently joined the bans; overall, the continent shows a patchwork approach driven by security, integration, and identity debates rather than a unified standard.