"This is not a good idea," said Abdelhak Cherid, 24, smoking a cigarette in the street with his friends, outside a Muslim grocery store in Paris. "It's going to cause problems -- serious problems.
"This law is going to create anti-Muslim sentiment, and anti-French sentiment. No good will come of it," he said.
But other Muslims here believe the key to successful integration is to live the values of their adopted land.
"I arrived in France and adapted to this country," said 65-year-old Telly Naar, who came from Morocco 40 years ago. "Everyone should be able to practice religion at home. If one wants to wear the head scarf outside, fine, but not inside a school that is secular."
Some said the debate on the issue exposed the danger of Islamic fundamentalism and will help roll back radicalism.
"Until now families were alone in fighting fundamentalists, often in the shadows, and at danger to their safety," said Hanifa Cherifi, a mediator for the national education system on the head-scarf issue.
The debate "lifted the veil on fundamentalist thinking, which is taking a population hostage," she told parliamentary TV.
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