Expressing the viewpoint of many, France’s Prime Minister Manuel Valls supports the banning of swimsuits, saying the suits are not compatible with French values and are based on the “enslavement of women”.
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Prime Minister Valls said the burkini is “not compatible with the values of France and the Republic”.
But their main justification is security concerns after a season marred by deadly Islamic extremist attacks.
In the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais, the mayor of the Channel town of Oye-Plage said Tuesday he would also move to ban the burkini after seeing a woman wearing “a complete cape and gloves, covering her face and her eyes” as she headed to the beach on Sunday.
Valls said the swimwear represents a “provocation” and an “archaic vision” that women are “immodest, impure and that they should therefore be totally covered”. The women’s rights minister has also backed the ban.
The burkini is a full-body garment worn by some Muslim women when swimming.
Feiza Ben Mohamed, a spokeswoman for the Southern Federation of Muslims, responded to the Cannes burkini ban last week, telling the Local: “The mayor talks about protecting public order, which means he thinks the presence of a Muslim woman on a beach will cause trouble. It can not be considered only as a question of fashion or individual liberty”, Rossignol said on Europe-1 radio.
“What is more French than sitting on a beach in the sand?” she asked.
Sisco, on the island of Corsica, became the third town to join them on Monday, immediately following a violent beach brawl between local teens and three Muslim families the day before.
Abdallah Zekri, head of the National Observatory against Islamophobia, told BFM television that some French politicians were using the burkini debate to stigmatize Islam.
“Women’s rights imply the right for a woman to cover up”, Alouane, a Muslim born and raised in France, said.
The bans have provoked strong criticism from Muslim groups and anti-discrimination organisations, who argue women should have the freedom to dress how they wish.
“There are no burkinis in Le Touquet at the moment, but I don’t want the town hall to be caught offguard if we are affected by this phenomenon”, Fasquelle said.
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