Advertisement

French police 'force woman to remove burqini' on beach

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
French police 'force woman to remove burqini' on beach
A file photo of a woman in a burqini. Photo: AFP

Pictures have emerged showing armed police officers in southern France apparently forcing a woman to remove her burqini.

Advertisement

The pictures show four police officers descending onto the beach in Nice that is below the Promenade des Anglais, where 85 people were killed in a terror attack last month. 
 
They approach a woman who appears to be relaxing in the sun, and then gather around her.
 
She can then be seen removing her long-sleeved top as one officer appears to be writing an infringement. 
 
The exact details behind the story remain unclear, but it seems the woman is the latest to have been stung with a €38 fine after over a dozen beaches in France banned the burqini. 
 
Social media users were quick to share the images online, with some pointing out that the woman's attire didn't even appear to be a burqini. 
 
"Is this what being liberal looks like? Men forcing women to take clothes off?" asked one. 
The news comes just one day after a French woman reported that she was told to pay a fine or leave a Cannes beach for wearing a headscarf. 
 
The woman, originally from Toulouse, was wearing leggings, a tunic and her hijab - a headscarf covering her hair - while at La Bocca beach with her family.
 
"I wasn't there to provoke anyone," said the woman. 
 
Journalists at the scene said that a pack gathered around the woman and "used racist terms freely", saying thins like 'Go home!' and 'we're Catholics here!'"
 
Siam said the incident left her feeling "humiliated" and that she felt she was fined simply for being a Muslim.
 

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