“The mayor talks about protecting public order, which means he thinks the presence of a Muslim woman on a beach will cause trouble”, she said.
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Five people were injured and three cars were burned as the rival sides hurled stones and bottles. “It is the translation of a political project, based in particular on the subjugation of women”.
While Araud argued the ban was valid on the grounds that it protects women from “cultural oppression”, Alouane said the law must protect religious freedom and state neutrality, instead of being, as she argued, “used as a tool to restrict both”.
A woman wears a burkini in the sea.
Socialist mayor Ange-Pierre Vivoni of Sisco, on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, told BFM Television the burkini was not acceptable in his town.
“We are not talking about banning the wearing of religious symbols on the beach, but ostentatious clothing which refers to an allegiance to terrorist movements which are at war with us”, he said.
‘That is not compatible with the values of France, ‘ Valls said. It is not clear whether any of the women were wearing a burkini.
The Prime Minister’s comments arrive in the wake of an all-out beach brawl in Corsica, where tourists taking pictures of burkini-wearing got into a heated discussion with locals.
In fact, it would be challenging to spot a burkini on most French beaches, and even some of the mayors considering the bans admit to never having seen one.
He is following in the footsteps of two other cities in France after violent clashes Saturday between Corsican youths and families of North African origin, he announced Monday. It is to them, “their authorities, their families, their personal commitment, professional, social, that they reject this deadly vision of Islam”, he said.
“It will accentuate tension within French society”, Leyla Dakhli, a French-Tunisian professor of Arab history, said.
Such bans show a hardening of French opinion against the immigrants who basically hail from North Africa. On Saturday, Villeneuve-Loubet on the French Riviera outlawed burqinis for “hygienic reasons”, according to the town’s mayor, Lionnel Luca, who made the decision.
He also added that “regulations on prescribing clothes can not be a solution”.
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The row comes as tensions run high following several attacks in France claimed by the Islamic State group, including last month’s Nice massacre when a Tunisian ploughed a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day, killing 85 people.
