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Burkini swimwear banned in 3rd French town after tense clash

Three women have been fined for wearing burkinis at beaches in Cannes, France.

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Cannes and the town of Villeneuve-Loubet also recently banned the burkini.

But according to sociologist Jean Baubérot, the Muslim community risks feeling even more excluded from French society following the burkini bans.

The mayor of Cannes first banned the burkini from the city’s beaches last week, calling the swimsuit “the uniform of extremist Islamism, not of the Muslim religion” and disrespectful of “good morals and secularism”.

“Following the attacks, the atmosphere is very tense and the burkini is seen as an ostentatious display that can threaten public order, that is why we took the measure”, the spokeswoman said.

French citizens are on edge following a string of deadly attacks claimed by Islamic State, including attacks in Paris in November 2015 when 130 people were killed and the July 14 attack in Nice in which 85 people died when a militant plowed a truck into a crowd.

France’s Prime Minister Manuel Valls says the swimsuit reflects a worldview based on “the enslavement of women” and the belief that women are “impure and that they should therefore be totally covered” was part of an “archaic vision”.

The ban is the third to be introduced this northern summer in French towns, with the mayor of the glitzy Riviera resort of Cannes saying he would not allow “a uniform that is the symbol of Islamist extremism” to be worn on the beaches in his town.

The recent banning was announced by a mayor on the French island of Corsica after a clash broke out between residents in the Corsican village and the beachgoers of North African descent over the latter’s swimwear.

Five people were injured and three cars burned as the rival sides hurled stones and bottles.

Pointing out that France’s Muslims are also French, he added: “One does not have to dictate to people – whatever we think of burkinis – how they have to dress”.

Valls said in an interview with La Provence newspaper that general laws dictating clothes are not a solution.

A ban on wearing burkinis was passed Sunday and took effect Tuesday. The country passed a law in 2010 banning people from concealing their face in public spaces, effectively outlawing full-face veils such as the niqab and the burqa.

The Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) said it had filed an appeal against a court ruling upholding the bans, warning that they pose a threat to social peace and would only serve to divide France more.

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But anti-racism campaigners saying that banning women from wearing it amounts to discrimination.

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