In their ruling, three senior judges said the ban “has dealt a serious and clearly illegal blow to fundamental liberties such as the freedom of movement, freedom of conscience and personal liberty”.
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“If we do not put an end to this, the risk is that in 10 years, Muslim girls who don’t wear a headscarf or a burkini will be stigmatized and put under daily peer pressure”, he said, lumping the Islamic headscarf together with the disputed swimsuit.
His comment came after city officials in Nice – located not far from Villeneuve-Loubet – said Friday that the bans will remain in effect as long as its own ban wasn’t overturned.
The suspension of the ban on the Islamic swimsuit, which has triggered a fierce debate in France and sparked critical headlines around the world, was welcomed by the United Nations, and a French Muslim group said it was a “victory for common sense”. The same was true for millions of worldwide observers, especially after images surfaced this week of a French police squadron surrounding a Muslim woman sunbathing on a beach in Nice, demanding that she remove portions of her clothing in broad daylight.
The mayor of one town in Corsica said he would keep his ban in place in defiance of the ruling.
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.
The mayor of the small town of Sisco where the brawl broke out later announces France’s third ban on the swimsuit.
On the other hand, Gerard Araud, the French ambassador to the United States, acknowledged that a lot of people disagree with the burkini ban.
Friday’s decision, which suspended the legality of the ban in Villeneuve-Loubet, could pave the way for the bans to be overturned elsewhere – which would be seen as a major victory for human rights groups that have called the bans an insult to freedom of expression.
“Here the tension is very, very, very high and I won’t withdraw it”, Ange-Pierre Vivoni said on BFM-TV.
In a statement, the LDH welcomed the verdict but said it will not resolve the presented issue. The protest against the burkini ban was held to show solidarity with Muslim women in France. The ruling could set a precedent for up to 30 other towns that imposed bans on their beaches, chiefly on the Riviera. The swimsuits cover the head, torso and limbs. The German town Neutraubling banned burkinis in public swimming pools earlier in June, citing complaints about possible hygiene issues.
“The decision by the Council of State is normal”.
The July 14 attack on revelers in Nice, the killing of a priest in Normandy on July 26 and the June killing of a police couple in their home – all claimed by the Islamic State group – have focused tensions on Muslims.
Battling Sarkozy for the Republicain party nomination, Alain Juppe said he is opposed to a “law of circumstance driven by media controversies”.
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The State Council heard arguments from the Human Rights League and an anti-Islamophobia group.
