Amid uproar over France’s enforcement of the burkini ban, the top court of France has overturned the ban in the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, the Associated Press reports. The decision, issued by the country’s Council of State, is likely to set a precedent for overturning the ban in all other ordinances in which it currently is enforced.

This action comes a few days after photos were released that showed police forcing a woman lying on a beach in a burkini to remove some of her clothing, deeming her outfit not beach-appropriate. As a result, France has been facing heat for what many believe is simply another way of exerting control over women’s bodies.

While the burkini seems to only be a slight variation on the wetsuit, it has its proponents in uproar over issues such as “hygiene” and “morality.”

The #BurkiniBan – ‘C’est ridicule!’ © Amy Clancy (@AmyClancyUK) pic.twitter.com/yohgEJ6G2J

— Amy Clancy (@AmyClancyUK) August 24, 2016

Men: Stop telling women what to wear https://t.co/eHdQ7kPq4y #BurkiniBan pic.twitter.com/zG5l6wrbW5

— Ann Telnaes (@AnnTelnaes) August 25, 2016

However, it is likely that this city’s overturned ban will be met with a lot of resistance in the country, where the ban has also received a lot of support in the name of secularism. Former French president (and current presidential candidate) Nicolas Sarkozy, for example, has called the burkini a “provocation” that supports radical Islam. Additionally, right-wing leader Marine Le Pen vowed that the battle would continue, and declared his support for a banning of headscarves in all public places.

The conservative mayor of the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, Lionnel Luca, isn’t happy with the court’s decision, believing that it “can only heighten passions and tensions, with the risk of trouble we wanted to avoid.”

The burkini ban is a continuation of recent French policies to crack down on overt religious expression, policies which have seemed to unevenly target Muslims. In 2004, a French policy banning religious symbols in public schools prevented students from being able to wear items such as headscarves. In 2011, a policy to prevent face coverings in public made it forbidden for women to wear burqas without facing consequences. This most recent ban seems to be a continuation of this fixation on Muslim women’s wardrobe and what it allegedly represents.

While male leaders in France continue to fight over women’s clothing choices, the repercussions of the French court’s decision will undoubtedly continue the discussions on secularism, religious freedom, and Islam within France and other European countries.

Mariam Jaffery

Mariam was an Executive Assistant at Law Street Media and a native of Northern Virginia. She has a B.A. in International Affairs with a minor in Business Administration from George Washington University. Contact Mariam at mjaffery@lawstreetmedia.com.

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Armed police officers forced a Muslim woman to take off her burkini at the beach in Nice, France. In Cannes, another woman was fined for wearing a headscarf and leggings. These are some of the first known examples of enforcement of  a controversial ban on certain beachwear since the ban was implemented in several French towns earlier this month.

Cannes was the first town to impose the ban, which emerged after recent terrorist attacks in France. According to the rule, you cannot visit the beaches in Cannes if you are “wearing improper clothes that are not respectful of good morals and secularism.” The prohibition is widely seen as a restriction of the freedom of religion and expression that is supposed to exist in France.

According to the Telegraph, at least four armed officers approached the burkini-wearing woman on the beach in Nice and didn’t leave until she took her burkini off.

Woman forced to remove burkini on Nice beach while another given fine in Cannes https://t.co/UhI7rpeJDPpic.twitter.com/2nTpXOfn9Q

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 24, 2016

The woman who was fined in Nice said she was wearing a tunic with leggings and a headscarf, sitting on the beach in Cannes with her family with no intention of going swimming. Another beach visitor who witnessed the incident, Mathilde Cousin, said, “The saddest thing was that people were shouting ‘go home,’ some were applauding the police. Her daughter was crying.”

The town of Villeneuve-Loubet was one of the first of some 15 French towns to follow the example set in Cannes, imposing similar beach rules. On Monday, a lower court ruled that the ban is “necessary, appropriate, and proportionate” to uphold public order after recent terrorist attacks. The ruling went on to say that the burkini was “liable to offend the religious convictions or [religious] non-convictions of other users of the beach” as well as “be felt as a defiance or a provocation exacerbating tensions felt by” the community.

The French NGO Human Rights League appealed the decision, saying the ban is a “serious and illegal attack on numerous fundamental rights,” notably freedom of religion.

The controversial ban will come before the highest administrative court in France on Thursday. Meanwhile, the mayor of Villeneuve-Loubet, Lionnel Luca, had another explanation for why he wanted the rule in place. He told Sky News:

I was informed that there was a couple on one of our beaches where the wife was swimming fully dressed… I considered that unacceptable for hygienic reasons and that in general it was unwelcome.

The woman he saw was swimming in the ocean, not a swimming pool. Luca did also not specify whose hygiene he was concerned about.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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The Mayor of Cannes, in Southern France, has banned the “burkini” from its beaches. He claims it is a threat to public order and a symbol of radical Islam.

A “burkini” is simply a garment that some Muslim women wear to the beach; it covers a wearer’s whole body and hair, but not her face. This ban has been met with criticism from anti-Islamophobia groups and citizens alike, who say that Mayor David Lisnard is simply trying to gain political points in the aftermath of recent terror attacks that have kept citizens on high alert.

#Cannes bans ‘burkini’ from French Riviera beaches https://t.co/LwkVJbsw7m pic.twitter.com/YAjrW53RbT

— dwnews (@dwnews) August 12, 2016

The idea that a piece of women’s clothing could be a sign of radical Islamism and terrorism has also caused protests on social media.

The ban on burkinis also scream of Islamophobia. While other religous symbols can still be displayed, a burkini ban =”radical islam”?

— Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) August 12, 2016

According to the BBC, Lisnard confirmed to local media that even though the Muslim religious clothing will be banned on the beaches, the Jewish kippah and the Christian cross will still be permitted. The new rule says:

Access to beaches and for swimming is banned to any person wearing improper clothes that are not respectful of good morals and secularism.

Beachwear which ostentatiously displays religious affiliation, when France and places of worship are currently the target of terrorist attacks, is liable to create risks of disrupting public order.

With the new rule, women wearing a burkini will first be asked to change into some other kind of swimwear or leave the beach. If they don’t, they will be subject to a fine of about $42.

The organization Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) has said it objects to the decision, saying in a statement on its website that no part of French law prohibits free expression of religion in public.

France has been the target of several terror attacks in the past few years; a truck attack in Nice in July was the most recent incident. CCIF pointed out in its statement that Muslims made up a third of the 85 victims at the truck attack, saying that terrorism affects everyone regardless of religion.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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