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Air France flight attendants, furious at being ordered to wear headscarves in Tehran, say they will refuse to fly to the Iranian capital when the airline resumes the service later this month.

Female members of flight crews have been ordered to cover their hair once they disembark in Tehran and unions are demanding that the flights be made voluntary for women.

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The resumption of a thrice-weekly service between Paris and Tehran, planned for April 17 after an eight-year break, follows a thaw in relations since Iran agreed to dismantle large sections of its nuclear programme.

Iranian women have been forced by law to cover their hair or face stiff fines or even imprisonment since 1979.

It is not professional and they see it as an insult to their dignity.

In staunchly secular France, however, public signs of religion have been frowned upon since a 1905 law separated church and state.

French women see Islamic headscarves and veils as an affront to their dignity. They are banned in state schools and offices, and it is illegal to wear the full-face veil in public.