BURKINIS have been banned from the beaches of Cannes because they “make women look like TERRORISTS”.
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Mayor David Lisnard signed off on the ruling that “access to beaches and for swimming is banned to anyone who does not have (bathing apparel) which respects good customs and secularism”, which is a founding principle of the French republic.
Cannes Mayor David Lisnard issued an ordinance forbidding beachwear that does not respect “good morals and secularism”, noting that swimwear “manifesting religious affiliation in an ostentatious way, while France and its religious sites are now the target of terrorist attacks, could create risks of trouble to public order”.
The Cannes beach ban is just the latest of many French measures seen as singling out Islam, the country’s No. 2 religion, in the name of official secularism.
Thierry Migoule, the Riviera resort’s head of municipal services, said the garb is a step away from supporting ISIS extremism.
He added: “We are not banning the veil, nor the (Jewish) kippa nor crosses”.
It comes following a series of terror attacks in France claimed by jihadist group Islamic State.
The move to ban the “burkini” follows attacks throughout France in July, which left 85 dead in Nice and saw an elderly priest killed in northern France.
No burkinis have been seen in Cannes since the 28 July ruling, Migoule said.
Earlier this week, a waterpark in Marseille cancelled plans to host a private event for Muslim women wearing burkinis after a backlash from officials across the political spectrum.
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The local mayor Michel Amiens told the local France Bleu radio station on Tuesday that he had pulled the plug to “calm the situation”. Lisnard is a member of the centre-right Les Républicains party.
