What the Ruling says given by French Top Administrative Court? The Council of State has the final word on such matters.
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The contentious ban prevented women from enjoying the beach, and caused global uproar earlier this week after images surfaced of a woman being forced to undress in public by police officers, or risk getting cited for not wearing an “outfit respecting good morals and secularism”.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls robustly defended the burkini ban on Thursday while some ministers criticised it, exposing divisions within the government as campaigning begins.
Former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is seeking nomination in 2017 presidential election race, said he would bring in a nationwide burkini ban if elected to his former post.
National Front leader Marine Le Pen said the overturning of the ban was “not surprising” but the battle was not over. “We are not at war with Islam… the French republic is welcoming (to Muslims), we are protecting them against discrimination”, he said. But the predominant argument against them is that the burkini violates France’s century-old commitment to secularism.
Mr Spinosi represents the Human Rights League (LDH) which, along with the anti-Islamophobia association (CCIF), took Villeneuve-Loubet to the highest court in the land.
“This judgment does not affect us here because we had a fight over it [the burkini]”, said Ange-Pierre Vivoni, referring to a brawl on a beach in Sisco on Aug 13 which preceded the ban.
Now this ban has been overturned by France’s highest administrative court on Friday prompting a Right-wing backlash as mayors vowed to defy the ruling.
Here the tension is very, very, very strong and I won’t withdraw it.
The court’s ruling is expected to set a legal precedent for around 30 French resorts, mostly along the Riviera, which issued similar bans.
In mid-August, mayors of dozens of coastal towns imposed the ban on wearing the burkini which leaves only the face, hands and feet uncovered.
Lawyers for a human rights group and a Muslim collective challenged the legality of the ban, saying the orders infringe basic freedoms and that mayors have overstepped their powers by telling women what to wear on beaches.
In its ruling, the Conseil d’État noted that a local mayor had to maintain peace and good order while respecting the civil liberties safeguarded by French law.
Cannes Mayor David Lisnard, who issued an ordinance to ban the swim attire in late July, called the burkini “the symbol of Islamic extremism, not of the Muslim religion”.
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Such bans have divided France’s government and drawn anger overseas, especially after images circulated online showing police appearing to force a woman to take off her tunic.
