France's Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Wednesday on Europe 1 radio he would sign a decree sent to him by Immigration Minister Eric Besson refusing citizenship to a Moroccan man. The reason, he said, was that the man stated in his application he would never allow his wife to leave the home without a full veil and that a woman "is an inferior being."

Fillon said the applicant does not respect French values of secularism and equality of the sexes.

"It's French law. The civil code has foreseen for a long time that citizenship could be refused to anyone who does not respect the values of the Republic," he said. "If this man does not want to change his attitude, he has no place in this country. In any case, he does not deserve French nationality."

The applicant's wife is a French citizen, Fillon said.

France has made similar citizenship decisions in the past. A veiled Moroccan woman was denied citizenship by a French court two years ago because the court claimed her "radical" practice of Islam was incompatible with French values.

Fillon said he made his decision after the Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, said it had no objections to the refusal of citizenship.

French debate burqa's place in France

This most recent case comes as France engages in a heated national debate about what it means to be French and whether the burqa has a place in French society.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has said the burqa was "not welcome" in secular France, and last week a parliamentary commission recommended banning burqas in schools, hospitals, government offices and on public transportation.

Sarkozy and his government have pushed for some sort of burqa ban.

While France is home to the largest Muslim population in Europe, the country's Interior Ministry says only about 1,900 women wear a burqa. A recent survey found that 57 percent of the French were in favor of a law banning the burqa.

hf/AFP/dpa
Editor: Nancy Isenson