The burkini bans by some French coastal towns drew worldwide condemnation after images circulated online of police appearing to require a Muslim woman to disrobe.
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Devreux by RFI radio has already been interviewed by police on suspicion of racial discrimination, according to Le Parisien.
When two veiled women entered Le Cenacle in Tremblay-en-France, the restaurant’s owner refused to serve them and asked them to leave saying “Terrorists are Muslims and all Muslims are terrorists”.
Chevenement sidestepped the controversy, telling AFP, “As a former interior minister myself, I could not turn down the opportunity to contribute to this initiative of great interest to the public”. However, the man, on Sunday, apologised to a group who had gathered outside. “Full stop.” In turn, the audibly distraught women tell the man that they “do not wish to be served by a racist”, to which Devreux replies: “Racists like me don’t plant bombs and don’t kill people”.
France is now looking to revive a foundation to promote an “Islam of France” that trains imams in the history of the nation and its secular values – and better tracks foreign influence on French Muslims. “I do not truly believe the things I said, my comments did not reflect what I really think”, Devreux told local media late Sunday.
French anti-Islamophobia organisation CCIF said it is offering legal and psychological support to the two young women and appealed for no protests outside the restaurant itself.
Muslim leaders and politicians in France have met Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to discuss the future of Islam in the country.
Around 30 towns have banned the burkini from their beaches, with some mayors linking the bans to the massacre of 84 people in the southern French town of Nice last month.
A French court has overturned a ban on burkinis issued in Cannes – the first in a series of local bans on the Muslim full-body swimwear this summer that set off a heated controversy at home and a wave of outrage overseas.
Speaking to French daily La Croix, Cazeneuve reiterated the government’s opposition to legislating on the controversial matter which has sparked fierce debate both at home and overseas about women’s rights and France’s strictly-guarded secularism.
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The majority of French mayors who have imposed “burkini” bans are refusing to revoke them, despite a ruling from France’s highest administrative court against the ban in the town of Villeneuve-Loubet.
