French court
suspends burkini ban
(CNN) - Mayors do not have the right to ban
burkinis, France's highest administrative court ruled Friday.
The Council
of State's ruling suspends a ban in the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice,
and could affect cities around the country that have prohibited the full-length
swimsuit.
More than 30 French towns have banned burkinis, which cover the
whole body except for the face, hands and feet.
Officials
say the ban on the burkini -- worn mostly by Muslim women -- was a response to growing terror concerns.
Human rights
activists argue that such measures are illegal, and that pushes to
outlaw the garment are Islamophobic.
Photo sparks
outrage
The bans
followed a series of terror attacks in France -- including a truck rampage in Nice that killed 84, and the stabbing of an 86-year-old priest in northern France, both
last month.
Earlier this
week, photos of police enforcing a ban in Nice spread rapidly on social media.
The images show armed officers apparently ordering a woman to remove part of
her clothing.
Police confront a woman in a burkini on the beach along the Promenade des
Anglais in Nice this week.
Authorities in Nice say the officers were simply exercising their duties.
Deputy Mayor Christian Estrosi denounced the photos, saying they put the
officers in danger.
"I condemn these unacceptable provocations," he said.
Online and in the streets, the bans have sparked protests and criticism around
the world.
Jenny Dawkins, a Church of England priest, told CNN she joined the
protest after seeing a photo of the incident in Nice.
"I think it's a frightening image," she said. "I find it
quite chilling to see an image of a woman surrounded by men with guns being
told to take her clothes off."
What are France's burqa laws?
In April 2011, France became the first European country to ban wearing in
public the burqa, a full-body covering that includes a mesh over the face, and
the niqab, a full-face veil with an opening for the eyes.
And much like the recent burkini bans, opinion in the country is divided
between those who see the laws as an infringement on religious freedom, and
those who view the Islamic dress as inconsistent with France's rigorously
enforced secularism.
Those breaking
the law face fines of 150 euros (about $205) or public service duties.
The law was upheld
by the European Convention on Human Rights in 2014 after a 24-year-old
woman brought the case to court, claiming it infringed on her religious
freedom.
The government also previously banned
Muslim headscarves and other "conspicuous" religious symbols
in French schools in February 2004.
SOURCE: CNN
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