Merkel calls for ban on full-face veils

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a distinct nod to voter anger over an enormous influx of mainly Muslim migrants, endorsed legal restrictions on face-covering veils in public.

“Here, we show our faces, so full veiling is not appropriate,” the chancellor declared in a policy speech to a party congress that was greeted with sustained applause.

Merkel said bans on coverings such as the burqa and niqab should be enacted “wherever it is legally possible” — measures that would probably include venues such as courtrooms, public schools and universities, as well as traffic stops and police checks.

Merkel in the past has suggested that full facial coverings, worn by some observant Muslim women, are not compatible with German cultural norms. But her stated willingness to support legal bans was a highly symbolic moment, representing perhaps her most explicit acknowledgement to date that allowing entry of hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers over the last two years had opened deep fault lines within German society.

Merkel’s comments brought her more in line with growing sentiment elsewhere in Europe where mainstream leaders have been facing a populist challenge that is often colored by anti-migrant sentiment.