PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy lashed out Monday at the practice of wearing the Muslim burqa, insisting the full-body religious gown is a sign of the ‘debasement’ of women and that it won’t be welcome in France. The French leader expressed support for a recent call by dozens of legislators to create a parliamentary commission to study a small but growing trend of wearing the full-body garment in France. In the first presidential address in 136 years to a joint session of France’s two houses of parliament, Sarkozy laid out his support for a ban even before the panel has been approved-braving critics who fear the issue is a marginal one and could stigmatize Muslims in France. ‘In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,’ Sarkozy said to extended applause in a speech at the Chateau of Versailles southwest of Paris. ‘The burqa is not a religious sign, it’s a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement-I want to say it solemnly,’ he said. ‘It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.’ In France, the terms […]