The ban has provoked strong criticism from Muslim groups and anti-discrimination organisations, who argue that women should have the freedom to dress how they wish.
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The ban on so-called burkinis, at the height of the French Riviera’s vacation season, comes as France remains on edge after deadly Islamic extremist attacks in nearby Nice and on a Catholic church in northwest France.
The ban notification states, “Access to beaches and for swimming is banned to anyone who does not have bathing items, which respects good customs and secularism”.
Those who flout the bans will be cautioned and fined 38.
Lisnard calls the burkini “the uniform of extremist Islamism, not of the Muslim religion”.
The burkini ban says swimwear “manifesting religious affiliation in an ostentatious way, while France and its religious sites are now the target of terrorist attacks, could create risks of trouble to public order”.
The southern French city of Cannes specifically banned the full-body swim outfits from its beaches on Friday, citing concerns about public order.
Nobody has been apprehended for wearing a burkini in Cannes since the edict came into force at the end of July.
“We are not talking about banning the wearing of religious symbols on the beach … but ostentatious clothing which refers to an allegiance to terrorist movements which are at war with us”, said Thierry Migoule, head of municipal services for Cannes to Agence France-Presse Thursday.
Human rights groups, lawyers and Muslim associations claim the ruling is illegal and preposterous, which it viewed as “a new attack on the most basic principles of law”.
The League of Human Rights (LDH) has already confirmed that they would be challenging the burkini ban in a court while the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) has said they would also launch a legal challenge against the “illegal, discriminatory and unconstitutional” ban.
For the latter, it is the followers of Burkini “who discriminate, it is they who are isolated in a ghetto, it is they who are guilty of discrimination, not us rather defend Muslims in their practices”.
It urged tolerance, noting that Muslims made up about a third of the 85 victims of the July 14 truck attack on the Nice seafront.
The judge noted that the Cannes ban had been declared “in the context of the state of emergency and recent Islamist attacks, notably in Nice a month ago”. Even British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has been photographed wearing a burkini to the beach.
Islamic dress is a hot-button issue in France, where the full-face veil is banned in public places. Cannes will still allow other religious symbols, such as the kippah, Jewish skullcap, and the Christian cross on the beach.
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Proponents say the laws preserve secular values and protect women from religious oppression.
