France’s top administrative court on Tuesday ruled against allowing “burkini” swimsuits to cover the body in public swimming pools for religious reasons, arguing it violates the government’s principle of neutrality towards religion.
Although only a small number of people wear it in France, the burkini from head to toe is provoking intense political debate in the country.
Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin praised the State Council ruling as a “victory for secularism”. Some Muslim women denounced it as an unfair orientation to their faith and their bodies, and based on obsolete misconceptions about Islam.
The city of Grenoble, led by a Green Party mayor, voted last month to allow women to wear burkinis in public swimming pools following a campaign by local activists. The city also voted to allow women to swim topless, as part of a broader relaxation of swimsuit rules.
The prefect, or top government official, of the Grenoble region blocked the burkini’s decision, arguing that it was contrary to France’s secular principles.
The Council of State on Tuesday confirmed the prefect’s decision, saying in a statement that the vote in Grenoble was made “to meet a religious demand” and “harms the neutrality of public services.”
The ruling was the first under a controversial law, backed by President Emmanuel Macron, aimed at protecting “Republican values” from what his government calls the threat of religious extremism.
France’s top administrative body decided on Tuesday not to allow “burkini” bathing suits to cover the body in public swimming pools for religious reasons.AP Photo, File
Clothing standards in public swimming pools in France are strict, so the authorities say they are reasons for hygiene: hats are required and wide bathing trunks or other bulky pieces are generally prohibited. Neoprene suits are also not allowed in many swimming pools, as are some sunscreen suits.
Some other cities and towns allow burkinis in public swimming pools. The city of Rennes is among them, but its decision was aimed at loosening the rules of the swimsuit and not based on religious motives.
The mayor of Grenoble argued that women should be able to wear what they want and express their religious conviction in swimming pools and on the street. Opponents of the burkini, which include local officials from the far right but also from the left, argued that the swimsuit represented the oppression of women and a possible gateway to Islamic radicalism.
Six years ago, the Council of State overturned the local ban on burkini, amid surprise and anger after some Muslim women were ordered to remove clothing that hid their bodies on the beaches of the burkini. French Riviera.
For Fatima Bent, of the Muslim feminist group Lallab, Tuesday’s ruling is “a clear step backwards” that will further isolate women who cover their heads and bodies in public.
While some Muslim women are forced by male relatives to cover themselves, she said: “Muslim women are not homogeneous. (French authorities) look at Muslim women through a single prism.” She blamed a “fixation on the body of Muslim women by politicians who want to control them” of the colonial era.
Grenoble’s decision to swim topless has not been threatened in court.