The bans grew increasingly controversial as images circulated online of some Muslim women being ordered to remove body-concealing garments on French Riviera beaches.
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France bans the wearing of veils that cover faces in public and sought to do the same for burkinis triggering an uproar.
In Connecticut, the owner of an International House of Pancakes was convicted of racial discrimination for denying service to a Muslim family on June 27, 2016, according to the CT Law Tribune.
Dozens of other French towns and regions which also imposed a ban on burkinis have expressed their outrage over the Villeneuve-Loubet ruling, saying their restrictions remain in force.
The appeal was brought by the Human Rights League and a group campaigning against Islamophobia.
It ruled that the mayor of Villeneuve-Loubet overstepped his powers by enacting measures not justified by “proven risks of disruptions to public order nor, moreover, on reasons of hygiene or decency”. Some have also received fines for wearing the clothing.
“T$3 he burkini ban and the revival of the endless controversy on religious symbols linked to Islam merely stigmatize practicing Muslim women, exclude them from public spaces. and deprive them of their rights to autonomy, to leisure activities, to wear what they chose, and of course to practice their faith”, Human Rights Watch wrote on Thursday.
However, mayors of some towns have vowed to challenge the court’s decision and refused to lift the ban.
Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s former president who is now seeking reelection has described the burkini as a “provocation”, arguing it is a product of radical Islam.
The French government is split on the bans, with the Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem calling them “dangerous for national cohesion” – a statement which her Prime Minister criticised.
He finally tells them to “get out”, to which they reply “don’t worry, we’re leaving”.
Colville called on the local authorities in the country’s seaside towns and resorts to repeal the ban which France’s Council of State said “constitutes a grave and illegal breach of fundamental freedoms”.
Colville says such bans “fuel religious intolerance and the stigmatization of Muslims”, and “have only succeeded in increasing tensions”.
Spokesman Rupert Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said the United Nations wants French officials to lift the bans “immediately”, adding that they do not increase security.
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“Clearly, individuals wearing burkinis, or any other form of clothing for that matter, can not be blamed for the violent or hostile reactions of others”, he said.
