What I'm going to say is a mixture of facts and opinions.
Burqa is not an Islamic hijab, that is right. It's not an accident though that a very large proportion of women who wear Burqa are Muslims. This is why this has mostly become a topic Muslims look at as yet another way of harassing Muslims in Europe.
I don't know why Burqa is banned in France. It could be an honest reason that they do it for the sake of women, however, it could well be an outcome of recent intolerance towards Muslims in Western societies. This is what I don't know and this is what I don't care about either. I'm for the ban because this is the right decision regardless of the intentions behind it. It will be for the good of women.
I've been wearing hijab since I was 9. It was a part of my religion and it's still a part of my clothes. It's actually a part of me so it doesn't bother me that I'm forced to wear it. Many women willingly wear hijab because not having it would be a sin in their religion. Islamic hijab, as far as I know, is not forced on women only because men want their women to cover themselves up. Burqa, on the other hand, is something which has been strictly forced on women through time. Right, some, probably many women now might wear it because they want it themselves but it is historically an extremely manly wish forced on women. Burqa is not a traditional costume. It is men preventing other men to see their women's faces. It is men forcing something on what they consider as their "properties". It is men "protecting" what they "possess". Even if this hypothetical man doesn't force his woman to wear burqa today, it still won't change the story behind it.
I'm for banning this from the society because it is the right thing to do which is eventually good for the kind of woman who has been oppressed by her man through centuries.
Deneb, living in a country where only certain beliefs can be practiced has not made me become radical on the opposing side. I know well how terrible it is to live in a radical environment, this is what I wouldn't want for anyone. What I'm saying is my opinion as a woman.
I could be wrong but I guess Muslims' judgments here have been clouded by the impression of Muslims being harassed in Europe by this law. I know you guys try hard and loud to buy credibility for your opinions by insisting that "Hey, burqa is not an Islamic hijab, so what we say has nothing to do with Islam or religion, we only care about women's freedom of choosing what they wear" but women rights seems to be the last thing you care about, I'm afraid.