France, Pressured by Kidnappers, Won&#39;t Abandon Headscarf Ban
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France will maintain its ban on Muslim scarves and other signs of religious belief in state schools, ignoring demands by the Iraqi kidnappers of two French reporters, government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope said.
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BAGHDAD : The clock was ticking down for two French hostages whose Islamist abductors have served Paris with an ultimatum to lift a ban on Muslim headscarves in schools, while Iraq&#39;s government continued efforts to end the chaos prevailing in the country.
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Determined to save two journalists kidnapped in Iraq, France has frantically called on Arab leaders and Muslim imams and set in motion a swell of solidarity unseen in previous hostage dramas.
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An anxious French government accelerated its diplomatic bid to save two French reporters held hostage in Iraq on Tuesday as a fresh kidnapper deadline neared for Paris to scrap a ban on Muslim headscarves in schools.
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French critics and defenders of a ban on  Muslim headscarves in schools united in support of the law on  Monday, pledging to stand firm against militants holding two  French journalists hostage in Iraq who want the law revoked.
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The French Education Minister, Francois Fillon, said yesterday that up to 120 Muslim girls were still disobeying the government&#39;s ban on wearing headscarves in state schools since the new school year started last week.
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The kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq has injected new tension into France's debate over banning Islamic headscarves in schools just as Paris was hoping for a smooth start to the school year this week.
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With two French journalists facing execution in Iraq by Islamic radicals unless France scraps an imminent headscarf ban in schools, Muslims are protesting against the hijacking of their religion by terror groups.
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France redoubled its diplomatic efforts on Tuesday to save two French reporters held hostage in Iraq ahead of a new deadline to scrap a school headscarf ban, as the Islamic militant group Hamas called for the men's release.
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PARIS - President Jacques Chirac vowed Sunday to spare no effort to free two French journalists held hostage in Iraq by militants reportedly demanding that France revoke its law banning Islamic head scarves in schools.   "The whole nation is gathered together because what's at stake is the lives of two French people, the defense of freedom of expression, and also the values of our Republic," Chirac said in a televised address...
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The French government Sunday scrambled to develop a response to kidnappers who grabbed two French journalists in Iraq, demanding Paris revoke a law banning Islamic head scarves in public schools.
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France scrambled to secure the freedom of  two French journalists kidnapped by Iraqi militants who gave  Paris until Monday evening to drop its controversial ban on  Muslim headscarves in schools.
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France says it has stepped up its efforts to free two French journalists being held hostage by Iraqi militants who are demanding an end to a ban on Islamic headscarves in French schools.
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Militants holding two French journalists hostage in Iraq gave France another 24 hours on Monday to revoke its ban on Muslim headscarves in schools, Al Jazeera reported.
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France has scrambled to secure the freedom of two French journalists kidnapped by Iraqi militants who gave Paris until Monday evening to drop its controversial ban on Muslim headscarves in schools.
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BEIRUT -- The militant demand that a French ban on Islamic head scarves be overturned has fueled a backlash among religious and political leaders in the Middle East, who have often been silent about hostage slayings and other terrorism.
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France steps up diplomatic efforts over two journalists threatened with execution  in Iraq unless a headscarf law is repealed.