France lifts burkini ban
Court swayed by global outrage and local tension
The mayor of Sisco in northern Corsica says he won’t lift his ban on the burkini despite a ruling by France’s top administrative court regarding a similar ban in another town.
Ange-Pierre Vivoni had banned the burkini after an August 13 clash on a beach in Sisco. “Here the tension is very, very, very strong and I won’t withdraw it,” he said.
He conceded he didn’t know whether a woman was actually wearing a burkini the day a clash occurred that set a group of sunbathers of North African origin, from another town, against villagers.
It took days to untangle the events leading to the violence that many assumed was over a burkini siting.
France’s top administrative court has overturned a town burkini ban amid shock and anger worldwide after some Muslim women were ordered to remove body-concealing garments on Riviera beaches.
The ruling by the Council of State yesterday specifically concerns a ban in VilleneuveLoubet, but the binding decision is expected to set a legal precedent for the 30 or so resort municipalities that have issued similar decrees.
Lawyers for two human rights groups challenged the legality of the ban to the top court, saying the orders infringe basic freedoms and that mayors have overstepped their powers by telling women what to wear on beaches.
Mayors had cited concern about public order after deadly Islamic extremist attacks this summer, and many officials have argued that burkinis oppress women.
Lawyer Patrice Spinosi, representing the Human Rights League, said the decision should set a precedent, and that other mayors should conform to it. He also said women who had already received fines could object to them based on yesterday’s decision.
France’s highest administrative court is considering whether it’s legal for towns to ban burkini swimsuits, which have become a symbol of tensions around the place of Islam in secular France.
The bans have divided France’s government and society, especially after images circulated online showing police appearing to force a Muslim woman to take off her tunic.