Police can fine any woman wearing a burkini, or force her to disrobe – as they did earlier this week, surrounding a woman and ordering her to remove her tunic.
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With the decision to suspend the ban in the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, courts are required to follow the Council of State ruling.
In Villeneuve-Loubet, there is no evidence that there were any risks that public order was disturbed by people’s choice of bathing garment.
“The litigious order is therefore a serious infringement and clearly illegal to fundamental liberties of freedom of movement, the freedom of conscious, and personal freedom”, notes the court in its official ruling.
A lawyer outside court said that people who had been fined could claim their money back. It is a temporary decision handed down while the court takes more time to consider the full legality of the ban.
Bans have popped up in towns all over the country, and one was upheld by a lower court Monday.
“There’s a lot of tension here and I won’t withdraw my decree”, Sisco mayor Ange-Pierre Vivoni told BFM TV. “If not legal actions could be taken”, Patrice Spinosi was quoted as saying by the AP.
“One can not take back the harm which was caused, humiliations that were provoked”, Marwan Muhammad told reporters outside the court.
A woman wears a burkini on a beach in Marseille, France.
“By overturning a discriminatory ban that is fuelled by and is fuelling prejudice and intolerance, today’s decision has drawn an important line in the sand”, Amnesty’s Europe director John Dalhuisen said.
A French ban on the burkini – a swimsuit that covers the whole body except for the face, hands and feet – is boosting sales of the beachwear.
“We need to decide if we want a smiley, friendly version of sharia on our beaches or if we want the rules of the (French) republic to be implemented”, he said, referring to the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia.
Luca, also a lawmaker, said that now only a law can stop troubles.
The ban on burqinis in French towns will either be completely legalized nationwide or struck down Friday.
While addressing only one local ban, the Council of State sets general principles in its ruling that any mayors will now have to abide by when using theirs powers in the future.
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Numerous most shared cartoons protest not only the ban but the challenges and criticism women across the world face over their choice of clothing.
