Following a month-long campaign by activists, the city council voted in favor of allowing the usage of burkinis last month.
A French court has ruled that women in the city of Grenoble cannot wear full-body “burkini” swimsuits in public pools.
The judgment supersedes a decision made by the city council a month ago to permit burkinis.
Body-covering swimwear, which exposes just the face, hands, and feet, is frequently worn by Muslim women who, for religious reasons, wish to maintain their modesty.
But conservative and far-right parties criticized Grenoble’s decision, claiming it would erode France’s principle of secularism in public life.
The government of the nation contested the council’s judgment, and a lower administrative court halted the policy pending further review.
The city of Grenoble then appealed to the highest administrative court in the country, the Council of State, which affirmed the earlier court judgment.
The Council of State stated, “The new rules for the municipal swimming pools of Grenoble influence… the normal running of the public service and undermine the equal treatment of users, so compromising the neutrality of the public service.”
After the most recent verdict, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin declared that the act of Grenoble had been “definitively overturned.” He termed it a “win for… secularism and most importantly the Republic.”
The city council of Grenoble stated that its primary objective was to provide fair treatment for all users.
According to authorities, France’s public pools have rigorous dress codes for cleanliness concerns. Caps are required, and baggy swimming trunks are typically prohibited.
No nationwide burkini ban
Supporters of the burkini assert that some women might choose to avoid public swimming pools or be pushed to do so by family members if they were not permitted to wear the body-covering garment.
Currently, there is no statewide ban in France, however, they are restricted in the majority of public pools.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party and runner-up to Emmanuel Macron in April’s presidential elections and a strong performer in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, has stated that she intends to pass legislation prohibiting burkinis in municipal pools.
“Burkini bans are discriminatory against Muslim women.”
According to Muslim rights groups, burkini bans impede fundamental liberties and discriminate against Muslim women.
Rupert Colville, the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that the restrictions “feed religious intolerance and the stigmatization of Muslims.” The UN has demanded that France rescind the bans on the burkini that were enacted in 2016.
