3 Saudi women barred from entering France with veils

In France, a 2011 law bans people from wearing Islamic face-covering veils anywhere in public.

"An official with the SGP-FO police union said that border police asked the women to remove their veils after they arrived Monday on a flight from Doha, Qatar," The Daily Mail reported.

The official said the women refused and hence the border police refused them entry into France, and hence returned to Doha the same night.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly for the police, the report said.

Supporters of the ban say the veil contradicts France's principles of secularism and women's rights. Some Muslim groups say it stigmatises moderate Muslims, it said.