France’s highest administrative court has suspended a ban on full-body “burkini” swimsuits that was imposed in a town on the Mediterranean coast on Friday.
Ban on full-body burkini swimsuits has angered Muslims, feminists and civil liberties campaigners.
The ruling by the Council of State relates to the Mediterranean resort of Villeneuve-Loubet, one of more than a dozen French towns that have imposed such bans.
The burkini ban has shone a light on secular France’s long-standing difficulties integrating its Muslim population and dealing with the aftermath of a series of Islamist attacks.
The court said in a statement the decree to ban burkinis in Villeneuve-Loubet “seriously, and clearly illegally, breached the fundamental freedoms to come and go, the freedom of beliefs and individual freedom.”
The lawyer representing the League of Human Rights campaign group which had challenged the ban in Villeneuve-Loubet told reporters the ruling meant all town halls would need to reverse their bans. The group argued the bans contravened civil liberties.
But one mayor in Corsica said he would not suspend his own ban, showing that the ruling will not put a quick end to the heated controversy that has already filtered into early campaigning for the 2017 presidential election.
“There’s a lot of tension here and I won’t withdraw my decree,” Sisco mayor Ange-Pierre Vivoni told BFM TV.
The issue has also made French cultural identity a hot-button issue along with security in political debates ahead of next April’s presidential election.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls robustly defended the burkini ban on Thursday while some ministers criticized it, exposing divisions within the government as campaigning begins.
Former president Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday he would impose a nationwide ban on burkinis if elected as he seeks to position himself as a strong defender of French values and tough on immigration.
“This is a slap for the prime minister and a kick up the backside for Sarkozy,” Abdallah Zekri, secretary general of the French Muslim Council (CFCM) said of the ruling. “We’re satisfied with this.”
Socialist Party spokesman Razzy Hammadi told BFM TV he hoped the ruling “will put an end to this nasty controversy”. REUTERS
If we are denied from some beaches, then so be it. We would much rather hold onto our principles and await the beaches of the Hereafter if must. We do not take the words of men to undress above the words of the Creator instructing men and women to dress modestly.Covering ourselves is from the fitra or natural disposition of human beings, whilst uncovering ourselves is from the fitra or nature of animals; a learned behaviour for humans. The attack on Muslim women’s dress ironically shows just how much power we have. We have always been a locus for cultural engineering, since we are the carriers of culture from one generation to the next.This is one reason I believe the majority of new Muslim converts in the western world are women.
It is comforting to note that non-Muslim women are flocking to buy burkinis,[See :http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/news-and-views/news-features/nonmuslims-flock-to-buy-burkinis-as-french-bans-raise-profile-of-the-modest-swimwear-style-20160819-gqwx95.html ]
with the designer claiming almost half of all burkinis are bought by non-Muslim women [See:https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/24/i-created-the-burkini-to-give-women-freedom-not-to-take-it-away ].
It is we who are upholding the natural fitra we have all been created upon and resisting the wider society’s call for us to lose our modesty and haya.
I agree with Shaaz. Bikini only promotes nudity. There should be a freedom for one to protect from the gaze of male onlookers. It also creates exploitation of women. I hope better sense prevails in France.