Lleida will prohibit wearing the face completely covered in public thoroughfares and in municipal dependencies with a new ordinance of civility and coexistence that the government of the Paeria plans to take to the municipal plenary session in June.
The measure will affect the use of the burqa in the street and in municipal buildings, although the future regulation contemplates an exception in religious centers or in spaces where its use is habitual and does not violate the rights of other people. The mayor, Fèlix Larrosa, has framed this decision in civility and in the protection of women's rights.
Update of an ordinance in force since 2007
Larrosa has explained that the current regulation has been in force since 2007 and that the new ordinance will serve to update the sanctioning framework and incorporate infractions collected in other regulations. The municipal objective involves adapting the administrative response to behaviors that affect coexistence in public space.
The deputy mayor Cristina Morón foresees that the initial approval reaches the plenary session of the Paeria during the month of June. From there, the text must follow the usual municipal processing.
Fines of up to 3,000 euros according to the severity
The new ordinance will distinguish between minor, serious, and very serious infractions. Among the minor ones, sanctioned with fines of between 400 and 750 euros, will be included going with the face totally covered in the street, in addition to doing botellón, camping, washing oneself in public thoroughfares, disturbing neighborhood rest or performing physiological needs in public space.
Serious infractions will entail fines of 751 to 1,500 euros. In this block will be included the accumulation of three minor offenses in one year, soliciting sexual services on the street, committing acts of harassment, uttering hate insults or the resale of appointments for procedures in the public administration.
Very serious behaviors will be punished with fines of between 1,501 and 3,000 euros. They will be applied in cases of recidivism in serious offenses, sexual relations in public, acts of vandalism or damage against heritage, as well as especially serious hate insults.
Increase of sanctions for non-compliance with ordinances
The tightening of the municipal framework comes after the increase in files for non-compliance with ordinances in the city. In 2024, 448 sanctions were registered and in 2025 the figure rose to 813, an increase that the council puts on the table in the review of the regulations.
"It is necessary to protect everyone's rights" - Carme Valls
Valls has also highlighted the need to protect women who are forced to wear the burqa. The debate will now be in the hands of the municipal plenary, where the Paeria will address a reform that expands the catalog of infractions and strengthens the sanctioning regime on behaviors that affect coexistence in Lleida.