Burkini
France's highest administrative court has suspended the burkini ban imposed by the southern town of Villeneuve-Loubet. The ban "seriously, and clearly illegally, breached the fundamental freedoms to come and go, the freedom of beliefs and individual freedom," the judgment, expected to set a precedent, said.

It added that local authorities could only restrict individual liberties if there was a "proven risk" to public order, according to AFP. The top administrative court, Le Conseil d'Etat (the State Council), made the ruling public on Friday ahead of the official announcement, which is to provide its full legal basis.

The decision follows a demand from the League of Human Rights to overturn the burkini ban in the French Riviera town of Villeneuve-Loubet, saying the prohibition violates civil freedoms.


The latest decision means that wearing burkini is allowed again, but only in Villeneuve-Loubet. In other towns and cities that introduced the ban, it remains in force, unless it's challenged in court, according to Le Monde.

The mayor of the northern Corsican town of Sisco has already said that he won't lift the ban, which was introduced after an August 13 clash on a beach there. "Here the tension is very, very, very strong, and I won't withdraw it," he told BFM-TV on Friday.

Nice officially banned the burkini last week, following the example of more than a dozen other seaside areas. The ban states that clothing which "overtly manifests adherence to a religion at a time when France and places of worship are the target of terrorist attacks" is prohibited. The step provoked public outrage outside the country and split the nation.