The French are entering the values gauntlet now as they consider the ramifications of a law banning religious apparel in public schools. While the law covers large Christian crosses and Jewish skullcaps as well, it is primarily aimed at the hijab, the head scarf of female Muslims.

The French say the restriction is meant to counter a rise in Muslim fundamentalism. Some Muslims say it is an affront to their faith.

Behind the specifics lies the larger struggle democratic nations face as they seek to balance the need for security with the desire for freedom. It is a complicated, contentious and potentially defining business.

The French have long regarded themselves as tolerant and open-minded, at times casting disdainful glances across the Atlantic at American actions they consider repressive or reactionary.

And yet, by forbidding Muslim teenagers to wear their traditional headdress in school, they risk compromising such fundamental values as freedom of religion and expression.

Many devout Muslims say wearing the hijab is a command of God, meant to promote modesty and dignity. The French government says more females wear it now as a sign of growing, and divisive, militancy.

But reaching into the minds and consciences of their countrywomen to determine motives will be a dangerous act for the French. Like scooping up a handful of sand to capture a fragile seashell, grasping too tightly at security can mean crushing the very qualities one was seeking to protect.

Americans understand that struggle. We have sparred over the Patriot Act, agonized over Abu Ghraib and scrutinized our response to 9/11. But in the midst of those controversies, we nevertheless have continued to raise our children in a world where girls in hijabs can and do sit in classrooms beside boys in yarmulkes, where city streets are embroidered with turbans and saris and where, to a large extent, what religious artifacts a person chooses to wear or not wear are between him and the divine.

The balance may be hard to come by just now, but these are things to preserve at any cost.