Cannes bans full-body ‘burkini’ swimsuits from beaches

Muslim and human rights groups have lined up to slam a decision by the mayor of the Riviera resort of Cannes to ban women in burqinis – full body swimsuits, from accessing the beach.

The measure bans swimwear displaying “religious affiliation in an ostentatious way (that), while France and its religious sites are now the target of terrorist attacks, could create risks of trouble to public order”.

I am simply banning a uniform which is the symbol of Islamic…

France is on high alert following a series of violent incidents, including a truck attack on July 14 in Nice, adjacent to Cannes, killed 85 people.

That the debate is occurring on the Riviera, a vacation destination on the Mediterranean but also an anxious region after the terrorist attack on a Bastille Day celebration in the nearby seaside city of Nice, has only added to the controversy.

France was the first country in Europe to forbid full face-covering Islamic veils, known as burkas, as well as the niqab, which covers part of the face. The League of Human Rights (LDH) has already confirmed that they would be challenging the burkini ban in a court while the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) has said they would also launch a legal challenge against the “illegal, discriminatory and unconstitutional” ban.

With the new rule, women wearing a burkini will first be asked to change into some other kind of swimwear or leave the beach.

The prominent right-winger argued the burkini violates “good manners” and goes against France’s ban on wearing religious attire in public. Nevertheless, despite official claims that this ban could apply to various swimming costumes, Lisnard’s assertions that members of other faiths will continue to be able to display symbols of their religions, such as crosses, make it hard to deny that this measure is at least partially targeted at Muslims.

In France Islamic dress is a major issue. The same laws ban public school girls from wearing headscarves while attending class.

Nobody has been apprehended for wearing a burkini in Cannes since the edict came into force at the end of July. Cannes municipal authorities later commented that the ban was only against “ostentatious clothing” that could be linked to an allegiance with terrorist organizations.

Two weeks later, after extremists killed a Catholic priest near Rouen, Muslims across France attended Mass in a symbol of solidarity and a denunciation of terrorism.