NANCY, France A French court has rejected a Turkish Muslim woman's demand for a resident's permit on the grounds that she was wore a headscarf for her identity photograph, AFP quoted judicial sources as saying Wednesday.

In its ruling, the appeals court in the eastern city of Nancy dismissed government legal advice that the woman should be allowed to wear a headscarf in her ID photo as long as it did not disguise her identity.

The woman had applied to renew her French resident's permit in 1996 but the local administration in Montbeliard rejected the demand on the grounds the ID photos she provided showed her wearing a scarf covering her head and neck and did therefore did not meet official regulations.