Sunbathing woman beaten up by ‘gang of Muslim girls’ for wearing bikini in a park

A YOUNG woman was beaten up by a gang of girls as she sunbathed in a park wearing a bikini.

It is thought the five attackers, who are believed to be Muslim, objected to their victim being immodestly dressed in public.

They pulled her hair, punched her and slapped her around the face, leaving her badly bruised.

The incident, which has prompted outcry on social media, took place as the 21- year- old victim, Angelique Slosse, lay in the sun with two friends in a park in the French city of Reims, 80 miles north of Paris.

As the gang walked by, words were exchanged. At one stage one of the attackers – who are all said to live in a housing estate with a large Muslim population – was heard to say: ‘Go and get dressed.’

Another verbally abused her for ‘immorally’ exposing so much bare flesh in a public place. Miss Slosse replied to their comments and was attacked. She suffered severe bruising and has not been able to go to work since the incident last Wednesday.

The five attackers, aged between 16 and 24, were arrested. French authorities have not confirmed that they are Muslims but many have assumed they were because they took exception to Miss Slosse wearing a bikini to sunbathe in a public park.

Police said the victim was not able to tell them whether her attackers were motivated by religious views.

Last night the local police superintendent, Julie Galisson, said: ‘It was a fight between young girls which degenerated after one of the authors of the aggression said, “Get dressed, it’s not summer”.’

One of those arrested would not leave Miss Slosse alone and this degenerated into violence, Mrs Galisson said.

She added: ‘As is clear from the statement of the victim and those implicated, there is no religious or moral element which explains the aggression.’

However the incident has caused outrage i n France, where it is seen as the latest threat to French values by hardline Islamists. A dozen bikini-wearing women organised a protest in the park, braving rain and cold winds.

Hundreds of others responded to a Twitter appeal by the French anti- racist organisation SOS Racisme, posting images to show they supported the wearing of bikinis in public. They were asked to use the hashtag #jeportmonmaillotauparc (I wear my swimsuit in the park).

One large group posted a picture of themselves in bikinis with the comment: ‘All women are free in their bodies, and no one can decide for them.’

The protests echo the Je Suis Charlie campaign that went viral on social media in January following the massacre of 12 people by Islamic extremists at the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

The eldest three of the gang accused of attacking Miss Slosse have been remanded into custody until September.

French newspapers named them as Ines Nouri, Zohra Karim and Hadoune Tadjouri.

For legal reasons they could not identify the other girls aged 16 and 17 who were arrested and released, but who face further questioning.

The mayor of Reims, Arnaud Robinet, said that what had happened was an ‘intolerable aggression’ but added: ‘We have to be very careful not to jump to conclusions. All the same, I can understand why people have assumed that this attack had religious motives. If that turns out to be the case it is a very serious incident.’

France has t he l argest Muslim community in Europe – seven million.

Four years ago a poll by the Le Monde newspaper found that Islam was considered a ‘threat’ by nearly half of the French, with 68 per cent believing that Muslims were ‘not well integrated into society’.

Several French politicians have complained about the growing influence of radical Islam. The government has displayed a hard line towards religious extremism and has banned Islamic veils.

‘Intolerable aggression’