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I think that if suddenly you started to see large numbers of women walking around malls, cities and other public areas in the U.S. completely covered from head to toe you would see why this could be considered kind of disturbing. Even those who say "if they want to wear it, it's nobody else's business" might reassess.
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I wouldn't call it common, but I've certainly seen it. Why would I blink an eye? How is it any different from how Orthodox Jewish women wear extremely modest dress and the men wear very specific dress and hats and hairstyles?
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Hijab/niqab is one thing, but burka is an entirely different matter. It seems to send the message "I have no desire to get to know you, nor do I care that you can't recognize or communicate with me". It seems a little antisocial. Quite apart from any religious sensitivities it calls into question what it means to be a member of the community or culture.
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Orthodox Jews have the same separatism -- they WANT to signal "I'm not one of you." Same with the Yearning For Zion folks. That's fine -- it is a free country. I think Sarkosy's wrong.