France’s highest administrative court on Friday overturned a town’s ban on burkinis, the full-body swimwear used by some Muslim women, setting a precedent that challenges similar bans in at least 30 other municipalities, majority on the French Riveria.
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The legal challenge focused on the ban in the town of Villeneuve-Loubet on the French Riviera, but the Council’s ruling will be binding for all the 30 or so towns that have banned the burkini.
Police have fined Muslim women for wearing burkinis on beaches in several French towns, including in the popular tourist resorts of Nice and Cannes, sparking controversy in France and overseas.
Friday’s decision was an initial ruling by the Council of State while it continues to prepare its more detailed judgment on the legal issues in the case.
“Since the rise of Islamophobia, legislating against the burqa and other forms of religious dress is low hanging fruit for politicians, while doing very little to address the root causes, which are far more complicated and nebulous than banning a form of dress”, Nesrine Malik, a columnist for The Guardian, told CNN.
A court in Nice had upheld the Villeneuve-Loubet ban this week. By overthrowing the decision of the mayor, the court has “stated the law”, he added.
President Francois Hollande said yesterday that life in France “supposes that everyone sticks to the rules and that there is neither provocation nor stigmatisation”.
France’s controversial burkini ban has been overruled by the country’s top court.
Former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who plans to run for President again in next year’s election, said the wearing of a burkini was a political act and said he would bring in a nationwide ban if he returned to power.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says the court ruling suspending a ban on burkinis in a Mediterranean beach town doesn’t put an end to what he says is a fundamental debate.
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.
They suspended the ban in Villeneuve-Loubet, which will likely set a national precedent, according to the Hill.
Meanwhile, terror analysts have warned that the dispute will fuel jihadist propaganda as groups like Isis attempt to portray France and other Western countries as at war with Muslims.
However, at least one mayor has said they will ignore the judgement and keep the ban in place.
Amnesty International is praising a French court decision against bans of burkini swimsuits, calling such decrees invasive and discriminatory.
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France’s move toward secularism has also led to the ban of pork-free options in some schools, so Jewish and Muslim students are forced to choose between “pork or nothing”, Christian Today (CT) details.
