While Valls argued that burkinis oppress women, two ministers in his cabinet, Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem and Health Minister Marisol Touraine, have said banning burkinis is not a good option.
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The court’s decision was welcomed by the French Muslim Council, which described it as a “victory for the law and wisdom. that should make it possible to reduce tension”. “There’s no justification for this law”.
France’s top administrative court on Friday overturned a ban on burkinis in a Mediterranean beach resort, effectively meaning that towns can no longer issue bans on the swimsuits that have divided the country and brought world attention to its fraught relationship with Muslims. However, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls addressed the issue, saying that burkinis are “not compatible with the values of France and the Republic” – which is far better than religious or racist-driven hatred, right!?
Protestors recently gathered outside the French embassy in London, asking people to “show solidarity with French Muslim women [and] call for the repeal of this oppressive law by the French Government”.
Amnesty International’s Europe director, John Dalhuisen, welcomed the ruling “French authorities must now drop the pretence that these measures do anything to protect the rights of women”.
Religion and public life are strictly separated in France, which was the first European country to ban the Islamic full-face veil in 2011.
The initial ban in Cannes was justified by the head of municipal services, who said the burka is “ostentatious clothing which refers to an allegiance to terrorist movements”, while the mayor weirdly said it’s “unhygienic” to swim fully clothed.
“We need a law”, Nice’s conservative deputy mayor Christian Estrosi said on Twitter, calling for a bill that would allow burkini bans.
Front National (FN) leader Marine Le Pen said the overturning of the ban on burkinis in Villeneuve-Loubet is “not surprising” but the battle is not over. “Liberty? You telling us what to wear, you telling us what not to do will drive women back into their homes – what do you want us to do then?”, she said.
The Council of State’s ruling against the resort of Villeneuve-Loubet is expected to set a precedent for the dozens of French towns that have also laid down such bans. “Today all the ordinances taken should conform to the decision of the Council of State. If not legal actions could be taken”, Patrice Spinosi was quoted as saying by the AP.
The bans grew increasingly controversial as images circulated online of some Muslim women being ordered to remove body-concealing garments on French Riviera beaches.
The mayor of Corsica has promised to keep the ban no matter what the court says.
Ange-Pierre Vivoni, Socialist mayor of the Corsican town of Sisco, said his Burkini ban, introduced this month following a confrontation between Moroccan bathers and locals, would also remain “for the safety of property and people in the town because I risked having deaths on my hands”. But the predominant argument against them is that the burkini violates France’s century-old commitment to secularism.
Some politicians vowed to fight on, however, and continue enforcing a ban.
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At a hearing Thursday, lawyers for the rights groups argued that the bans are feeding fear and infringe on basic freedom.
