French burkini ban revoked

Top court says move by some cities breached basic freedoms

France’s highest administrative court on Friday suspended a town’s ban on so-called burkinis, the full-body swimwear used by some Muslim women that has become the focus of intense debates over women’s rights and secularism.

The Council of State, the top court in the French administrative justice system, ruled that the ban on bathing at the beach in the outfit, enacted by the town of Villeneuve-Loubet on August 5, violated civil liberties, including freedom of movement and religious freedom.

At least 20 other municipalities, most of which are on the French Riviera, have imposed similar bans.

Critics of the bans have said they unfairly targeted Muslims and stirred up fear in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks in France and elsewhere in Europe. The ordinances in question target bathing attire that is not “appropriate,” that is not “respectful of good morals and of secularism,” and that does not respect “hygiene and security rules.”

The wording makes no mention of a specific religion or type of clothing, but it is widely perceived to be aimed at Muslim women who are trying to dress modestly while at the beach.

The mayors of the towns with such prohibitions have argued that burkinis pose a threat to public order after multiple terrorist attacks in France in the past months, including one in Nice on July 14 that killed 86 people.

But the Council of State said that there was no evidence that such threats existed, saying in its ruling that the “emotions and concerns that are the result of the terrorist attacks, most notably the one carried out in Nice last July 14, do not suffice to legally justify the ban that is being challenged.”