"It's French law," Fillon said.

"The civil code has for a very long time provided that naturalisation could be refused to someone who does not respect the values of the (French) republic.

"This case is about a religious radical: he imposes the burqa, he imposes the separation of men and women in his own home, and he refuses to shake the hands of women.

"If this man does not want to change his attitude, he has no place in our country. In any case, he does not deserve French nationality."

Two years ago a French court denied citizenship to a veiled Moroccan woman on the grounds her "radical" practice of Islam was not compatible with French values.