The ban of the garments on the French island of Corsica came after a violent clash between North Africans and locals which saw a man harpooned for taking a picture of women wearing the garments.
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In the wake of the fight, the mayor of Sisco chose to implement a burkini ban similar to those in place at Cannes, Villeneuve-Loubet and Touquet.
The wetsuit-like garment that covers the torso, limbs and head, also apparently sparked a full-scale riot at the weekend on a beach in Corsica between men of north African origin and locals. An inquiry has been opened to determine what prompted the brawl; a witness said the fight began after tourists took photographs of women wearing Burqinis. Bottles and stones were thrown and three cars set alight.
Up to 100 members of the security forces were deployed to restore calm, police said.
The Mayor of Disco became the latest official to prohibit the swimwear, which is worn by some Muslim women, following a council session on Sunday held amid tensions over the clash.
FRANCE’S Prime Minister has backed the banning of burkini swimsuits, saying they are not compatible with French values and are based on the “enslavement of women”.
The ban comes into force weeks after 85 people were killed and dozens more injured when a lorry deliberately drove into crowds of people in neighbouring Nice.
Tensions grew Sunday, when an impromptu rally was held and almost 200 demonstrators marched on the city’s Lupino district, where many families of North African descent live, according to the BBC.
According to a report in Daily Mail, some of the women, aged between 29 and 57, were accompanied by their children to the French beach, while others were spotted swimming in the sea in burkinis.
“We’re going up there because this is our home”, they shouted.
Following the incident mayor Pierre-Ange Vivoni said that he would enact a ban starting on Tuesday. Police blocked the protesters from entering the estate.
Last month, a splinter group of the nationalist Corsican National Liberation Front warned Muslims that any attack on the island would trigger “a determined response, without any qualms”.
The Riviera resort controversially banned the Islamic full-body swim outfits last week claiming they made women wearers “look like terrorists”.
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French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Wednesday he supported the ban issued in several parts of the country against the burkini, but ruled out government legislation on the matter.
