Amnesty has condemned the detention of several people protesting against the French law banning any form of clothing publicly concealing the face.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has deplored attempts by governments in Europe to prohibit Muslim women from publicly wearing the burqa.

The French government has been roundly condemned by the European Union for its ethnically-based deportations targeted on Roma camps.

France's main Protestant grouping has added its voice to criticism of government repatriation of Roma migrants and demolishing Roma camps.