Women banned from wearing burkinis on Cannes beaches

Mayor’s decree outlaws swimwear with ‘religious affiliation’ over suspected links to Islamic extremism

THE mayor of Cannes has banned Muslim women from wearing “burkinis” on the beach, a move critics said was illegal and a “gift for Isil recruiters”.

The ban on the full-body, headcovering swimsuit, at the height of the French Riviera holiday season, came as tensions remain high after the Islamist attacks on nearby Nice and on a Catholic church in north-west France last month.

David Lisnard, the Cannes mayor, issued a decree forbidding beachwear that fails to respect “good morals and secularism” and poses a hygiene and public order risk. “Swimwear displaying religious affiliation in an ostentatious way, while France and its religious sites are currently the target of terrorist attacks, could create risks of trouble to public order,” it said.

The town hall confirmed that the ordinance, which applies for the month of August, means women wearing burkini-style swimsuits face €38 (£32) fines if they refuse to change swimsuit or leave the beach. Thierry Migoul, head of municipal services for Cannes, said: “We are not talking about banning the wearing of religious symbols on the beach, but ostentatious clothing which refers to an allegiance to terrorist movements which are at war with us.” He said it was not the only clothing restriction in force, citing a decree to outlaw men from “walking around bare-chested in a swimsuit in town”. The mayor of nearby Villeneuve-Loubet has also introduced a burkini ban. Muslim and human rights groups criticised the move as absurd and illegal. “This is abuse of the law and we reserve the right to take this to the courts,” said Hervé Lavisse, president of the local section of the Human Rights League. A 2011 French law bans women from wearing the full, face-covering veil in public, but does not apply to burkinis, which normally cover the body but not the face. Jean-Louis Bianco, of the “secularism watchdog”, a state-funded body, said the claim that such clothing poses a “hygiene and public order” issue would have to be tested in court. Feiza Ben Mohamed, of the Muslim Federation for the South, said: “They are mixing up terrorists with the wider Muslim community. This type of row plays into Isil’s hands.” The Collective against Islamophobia is helping 10 Muslim women bring a legal request to have the ban overturned.