French Riviera Authorities Ban Burkinis Citing Safety Concerns

The glamorous French seaside resort of Cannes has caused outrage by banning Muslim women from wearing so called “burkinis” at the beach.

Mayor David Lisnard cited that tragedy and subsequent attack on a northwest France church in an ordinance forbidding swimwear that doesn’t respect “good morals and secularism”.

David Lisnard, the conservative mayor of Cannes, signed a bylaw stating: “Beachwear which ostentatiously displays religious affiliation, when France and places of worship are now the target of terrorist attacks, is liable to create risks of disrupting public order”.

The order banning burkinis from the beach was issued on July 28, and no burkinis had been seen in public since then, he added.

In an effort to clarify the intent of the ruling over the so-called “burkini,” the head of municipal services in Cannes said that wearing religious symbols on beaches is not banned. However, if they refuse to change their clothing and choose not to leave the public beach, they are facing a $42 fine.

It’s already illegal for women in France to wear the burqa or the niqab – full and partial face coverings, respectively.

France has been blighted with a huge number of terror attacks, including the recent truck attack in Nice, just along the coast and many people in France have demanded that the Government act against potential terrorist.

The mayor implemented the ban in light of recent terror attacks in the country.

“France TV Info’s legal blog, Judge Marie, says the risk of disturbing public order, invoked by the Cannes mayor, seems rather tenuous”.

Human rights activists are questioning the legality of the ban.

The head of the local branch Hervé Lavisse told The Local the ban as “absurd, ridiculous, counter- productive” and said it would it would be overturned within seconds in a court of law. However, no woman has so far been fined since the law went into effect in July. But there is no ban on wearing religious symbols or clothing.