President Nicolas Sarkozy is to become the first French head of state to address parliament in 136 years, and will set out his reform plans.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out strongly against the wearing of the burka by Muslim women in France.
A ban on a French president addressing parliament, enacted in 1875, was lifted by a narrow majority last year.
In a major policy speech, he said the burka - a garment covering women from head to toe - reduced them to servitude and undermined their dignity.
The speech has been compared to the US president's state of the union address.
Mr Sarkozy also gave his backing to the establishment of a parliamentary commission to look at whether to ban the wearing of burkas in public.
As such, it has angered Communist and Green MPs, who are boycotting the speech. The opposition Socialists will attend the address but not the debate.
Wearing of the veil is already outlawed in France's state schools.
The speech, taking place at the palace of Versailles, just outside Paris, will be given to a joint session of both houses of parliament.
More than 900 members of the National Assembly and the Senate gathered on Monday morning, with Mr Sarkozy due to give his speech in the afternoon.
Mr Sarkozy is expected to use it to outline his reform programme for the second half of his presidency, including changes to the pension system and local government.
But despite his centre-right party's success in the European elections and a recent rise in popularity polls, the French leader is unlikely to risk introducing any radical plans for change, says the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby in Paris.
With the French economy in its worst shape for 60 years and unemployment likely to hit 10% this year, France has little appetite for hard-hitting reforms, she says.
President Sarkozy is likely to announce a minor cabinet reshuffle a couple of days after his speech, to replace Justice Minister Rachida Dati and Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier, who recently won seats at the European Parliament.
