Corsica is the third place in France to ban full-body swimsuits known as “burkinis” following a beach brawl between local youths and three Muslim families.
The ban goes into effect on Tuesday shortly after Cannes and Villeneuve-Loubet prohibited the beachwear earlier this summer. Mayor Pierre-Ange Vivoni of Sisco, a small village located in the north of Corsica, said the decision was made on Sunday. It was decided at a special council session after five people were hurt during Saturday’s fight at a cove near Sisco.
“It happened because a tourist was taking photos,” Vivoni said, according to the Telegraph. “And the Maghrebins (North Africans) didn’t want to have their photos taken. It was quite a trivial matter to begin with.”
Witnesses said the incident turned into a riot when one of the dozen teenagers on the beach also took a photo, according to BBC. About 40 men from Sisco showed up to defend the kids.
Local media reported that a group of older North African men then arrived to take on the youths. Some of the men were armed with hatchets and harpoons, according to the Telegraph.
It also said the brawl went on for several hours before a hundred police officers broke it up. The damages included the burning of three cars and the hospitalization of five people, who were discharged later. One of them was a man wounded by a harpoon and another was a pregnant woman.
The publication also reported rising tensions between Muslims of North African origin and other communities in the south of France this summer. The tensions were heightened by the massacre in Nice last month.
Vivoni claims his decision has “nothing to do with racism, it’s about protecting people’s security,” according to BBC.
“There’s a fear but I assure everyone that the community is well protected and in any case I think here we’re ‘protected from retaliation,’ so to speak,” he said.
Whereas, Cannes’ town mayor, David Lisnard, is banning the burins because they show an allegiance to the recent Islamist attacks, according to the Daily Mail. However, opponents said there is no connection between the garments and political violence.
In addition, Lisnard claimed the swimwear is unhygienic and violators will receive a £32 fine.
Lionnel Luca, the mayor of Villeneuve-Loubet, also said the new law was for sanitary purposes, according to the Independent.
“I was told that there was a couple on one of our beaches where the wife was swimming fully dressed, and I considered that unacceptable for hygienic reasons and unwelcome given the general situation,” he said to AFP.
Meanwhile, a court said Cannes’ new rule to “ensure safety” was legal, the Independent reported.
