“The judges of the State Council thus suspend this ban”, the court wrote in its decision Friday.
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The ruling by the Council of State specifically concerns a ban on the Muslim garment in the Riviera town of Villeneuve-Loubet, but the binding decision is expected to impact all the 30 or so French resort municipalities that have issued similar decrees.
In mid-August, mayors of dozens of coastal towns imposed the ban on wearing the burkini which leaves only the face, hands and feet uncovered. Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said the “proliferation” of burkini bans “was not a welcome development” and said there seemed to be no link between terror attacks “and what a woman wears on a beach”.
“These bans do nothing to increase public safety but do a lot to promote public humiliation”, Amnesty International’s Europe director John Dalhuisen said.
The United Nations welcomed the court’s decision, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, noting that the UN stood for “the need for people’s personal dignity and person to be respected”.
Sarkozy, who is seeking re-election, said Thursday he’d support a nationwide burkini ban.
A lower court had ruled on Monday that the Villeneuve-Loubet ban was necessary to prevent public disorder. However, he may not have a choice; the legality of the ban for all communities is yet to be officially decided by the court.
The debate intensified as pictures began circulating online earlier in the week that show a woman surrounded by four policemen removing her long-sleeved top on a beach in Nice.
In an interview with The New York Times this week, the women credited with inventing the burkini said those who banned the swimwear had “misunderstood” its goal.
French Prime Minister Manual Valls has talked about “battle of cultures” and the burkini as a symbol of female enslavement.
Mr Sisco said it followed clashes this month between villagers and Muslim bathers.
Lawyer Patrice Spinosi, representing the Human Rights League, told reporters that the decision should set a precedent, and that other mayors should conform to it.
Burkini bans in France have sparked global outrage.
It says local authorities can only restrict individual liberties if wearing the Islamic swimsuit is a “proven risk” to public order.
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Proponents of the ban argue that the burkini is a matter of national security, pointing to the July 14 attacks in Nice that left 86 people dead. Correspondents said the court’s action makes it likely that the other bans will also be overturned. In an encouraging gesture by liberal and secular-minded Netizens across the world, a crowdfunding page titled JustGiving set up by two women is helping to pay off burkini ban fines.
