Advertisement

ban

French tribunal confirms burqini ban as 'necessary'

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
French tribunal confirms burqini ban as 'necessary'
Models wear the burqini. Photo: Saled Khan/AFP

A French administrative tribunal on Monday upheld a burqini ban decided by a Riviera resort which was one of a growing number of towns to outlaw the body-concealing Islamic swimsuit.

Advertisement

The Nice tribunal rejected an appeal by two human rights groups, ruling that the ban in Villeneuve-Loubet was "necessary, appropriate and proportionate" to prevent public disorder after a succession of jihadists attacks in France, including one in Nice on July 14th.

The burqini was "liable to offend the religious convictions or (religious) non-convictions of other users of the beach," and "be felt as a defiance or a provocation exacerbating tensions felt by" the community, it added.

Villeneuve-Loubet, just west of Nice, was among the first French towns to ban the burqini, triggering a fierce debate in France and elsewhere about the highly-contentious issue.

So far 15 towns in the southeast, including Nice itself, have already banned the burqini including nearby film festival host city Cannes, where three women were each fined 38 euros ($43) under the ban at the weekend.

The Human Rights League (LDH), which brought the appeal with the Collective against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), announced it would appeal the decision to the Conseil d'Etat, France's highest administrative jurisdiction.

The Council "should give its ruling within (a couple of weeks) and definitively fix the matter, legally," LDH lawyer Patrice Spinosi told AFP.

"The administrative tribunal rejected our request. It's a decision along the way and it's not really a surprise," he added, noting that the same tribunal earlier this month upheld a burqini ban by Cannes, the first French town to impose one.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also