Although the controversy over the burkini ban is far from over, leaders of France’s Muslim community hope that Monday’s conference will help decisively turn the page on the issue now that the ban has been overturned in at least one town.
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It is yet to be seen how the towns will respond to the court’s decision as henceforth the mayors may face legal challenges if the ban on burkinis continue.
The bans have divided France’s government and society and drawn anger overseas, especially after images circulated online showing French police appearing to force one Muslim woman to take off her tunic. Officials on the other hand say the ban was enacted in efforts to assuage tension and growing terror-related concerns after a series of attacks shook up the country since a year ago.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has labelled the burkini a “provocation” that supports radicalised Islam.
After the court ruling, new signage appeared on some Nice beaches, banning “beachwear which ostentatiously displays religious affiliation”.
Amnesty International welcomed the ruling.
Or, as our own fair leader J.K. Rowling put it on Twitter, “Whether women cover or uncover their bodies, seems we’re always, always ‘asking for it'”.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls had on Thursday maintained that the burkini was “a political sign of religious proselytising”.
Villeneuve-Loubet mayor Lionnel Luca, of Sarkozy’s Les Republicains party, said the ruling would heighten tensions.
The ban on the burkini (burka-bikini) was introduced in some French cities in July after the terror attack in Nice, when a man drove a truck into crowds of people celebrating Bastille Day. And, while the suspension only applies to Villeneuve-Loubet near Nice at the moment, the human rights organisations that brought the case forward hope the ban will be overturned elsewhere.
Muslims said they were being targeted unfairly.
Lawyer Patrice Spinosi, representing the Human Rights League, said that women who have already received fines can protest them based on Friday’s decision.
Ange-Pierre Vivoni, the mayor of the small Corsican town of Sisco, said he would keep the ban in place because the issue had sparked a violent beachfront brawl earlier this month.
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Such bans have divided France’s government and drawn anger overseas, especially after images circulated online showing police appearing to force a woman to take off her tunic. “Because the burkini swimsuit is freedom and happiness and lifestyle changes – you can’t take that away from a Muslim, or any other woman, that chooses to wear it”, Aheda Zanetti told the newspaper.
