PARIS - France's lower house of parliament has overwhelmingly approved a ban on wearing burqa-style Islamic veils, part of a determined effort to define and protect French values that has disconcerted many in the country's large Muslim community.

Proponents of the law say face-covering veils don't square with the French ideal of women's equality or its secular tradition. The bill is controversial abroad but popular in France, where its relatively few outspoken critics say conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy has resorted to xenophobia to attract far-right voters.

The ban on burqas and niqabs will go in September to the Senate, where it also is likely to pass. Its biggest hurdle will likely come after that, when France's constitutional watchdog scrutinizes it. Some legal scholars say there is a chance it could be deemed unconstitutional.

The issue has been debated across Europe, and Spain and Belgium have similar bans in the works. In France, which has Europe's largest Muslim population, about 5 million of the country's 64 million people are believed to be Muslim. While ordinary headscarves are common in France, only about 1,900 women are believed to wear face-covering veils.

WARSAW, Poland – Poland holds a presidential runoff July 4 — and a moderate, pro-European leader who has been acting president since a plane crash killed the incumbent is seen as the likely winner.

But the late leader's euroskeptic twin posted a surprisingly strong second-place finish in voting Sunday that has given him momentum.

Although Poland's president carries out primarily symbolic duties, he can veto laws and has influence on foreign military missions, and the runoff vote is expected to have a significant effect on the country's course.

Interim President Bronislaw Komorowski says he backs Poland adopting the euro in about five years and supports the government's attempts to trim the welfare state. Challenger Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the dead president's twin brother, would put the brakes on privatization and try to keep a larger role for the state in the economy.

The two face off July 4 after neither was able to muster the 50 percent needed for outright victory Sunday in a field of 10 candidates. Komorowski won 41.5 percent of the vote and Kaczynski 36.5 percent.