To Burqa or not to burqa is the wrong question, and outlawing one style of dress is oppressive, whether that style of dress is a mini skirt or a burqa.
If women were really equal everywhere, including France and the U.S., then there would be no push to outlaw a style of dress that many women CHOOSE to wear. By banning a style of clothing, you perpetuate the idea that women cannot decide for themselves even the most basic of things, like what to wear. It is just as bad to ban a burqa as it is to force women to wear one.
Women are not children who need protection from the big bad world. We are adult human beings who need to be treated as such and allowed to decide on the details of our own lives.