In a surprising statement this last weekend, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he fully agrees with Barack Obama that Muslim veiling is a right each country must respect. Coming from the leader of a country that has instituted a ban on wearing visible religious symbols (the veil being the prime target here) in public offices, this is quite intriguing. "In France, every young girl who wants to wear the veil can do it. It's her freedom," said Sarkozy citing some limitations in a secular (laïque) state but not saying anything about public schools from where much of the veiling controversy has erupted since the famous 1989 'affaire du foulard.' Does this mean France will start yet another debate on veiling and would the legislature rethink the infamous 2004 ban? The Élysée was quick to caution that the president also meant no veiling in public schools, but we know that despite endorsing the ban in 2004 as interior minister, Sarkozy has always been, and often publicly, uneasy with this law. The French president has also been openely impressed by what he calls America's "positive secularism." In 2007, he faced fierce criticism when he declared during a speech at the Saint Jean de Latran Church in Rome that in teaching the difference between good and evil, no school teacher can ever replace the pastor or the priest.