France is at the height of vacation season, and on edge after deadly Islamic extremist attacks in Nice and on a Catholic church in northwest France.
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In addition, he echoed Lisnard’s comments about the need to ban burkinis in order to avoid disturbances, given the recent terror attacks in France. Noncompliance to the measure will result in a €38 fine, equivalent to $42.
It urged tolerance, noting that Muslims made up about a third of the 85 victims of the July 14 truck attack on the Nice seafront.
The mayor of Cannes has banned the wearing of burkinis on the beaches of the French Riviera, officials have said.
David Lisnard, the mayor of the French Rivera resort, which is famous for its annual film festival, said it was necessary to prevent beachwear ostentatiously diplaying religious affiliation. In 2011 it became became the first country in Europe to bar women from wearing full-face Islamic veils in public.
Although the organization acknowledges the recent terrorist attacks in France were devastating, they pointed out that numerous victims were, in fact, Muslim.
France’s approach to religious attire has long stoked controversy: The country in 2010 passed a law that bans the burqa, an Islamic veil that completely covers women’s faces and bodies.
Critics say that instead of decreasing tensions, the Cannes measure could instead make things worse. Nevertheless, despite official claims that this ban could apply to various swimming costumes, Lisnard’s assertions that members of other faiths will continue to be able to display symbols of their religions, such as crosses, make it hard to deny that this measure is at least partially targeted at Muslims.
Prior this week a private waterpark close Marseille wiped out a burkini-just day in the wake of being subjected to feedback.
Traditional symbols from other religions will not be forbidden under the rule, which has also led the League of Human Rights in France to announce it intends to challenge the ban. In 2010, the French parliament passed a law banning burqas and forbidding people from concealing their faces in public. However, no woman has so far been fined since the law went into effect in July.
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Although Islam is France’s second most popular religion, government officials are obviously uncomfortable with the increased terrorist attacks and threats and the terrorists’ association with the Muslim religion.
