Excerpt:
A ban on saying prayers in the street, a practice by French Muslims unable to find space in mosques, has come into effect in the capital, Paris.
Interior Minister Claude Gueant has offered believers the use of a disused fire brigade barracks instead.
The phenomenon of street prayers, which see Muslims spreading mats on footpaths, became a political issue after far right protests.
France is home to the biggest Muslim minority in Western Europe.