Recently, photographs of armed policemen ordering a Muslim woman on a beach in the Mediterranean city of Nice, surfaced the internet, inviting widespread criticism.
The incident occurred at the city’s Promenade des Anglais beach, wherein, four police officers armed with handguns, batons and pepper spray were seen forcing a woman to remove her burkini as a part of a much-debated, new ban of France. The woman, a 34-year-old mother of two, is thought to have been issued with a fine and warned about the new dress code on the beach.
However, posting images and videos of the ban’s enforcement is considered unacceptable by Christian Estrosi, president of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
“I am denouncing what seems like a manipulation that undermines the local police, and puts the officers at risk. Already, complaints were filed to prosecute those who spread the photographs of our municipal police officers and those uttering threats against them on social networks,” he said in a Wednesday statement.
In fact, Socialist Prime Minister, Manuel Valls even defended the ban, saying it represents “enslavement of women.”
The legal basis for this particular lawsuit still remains unclear. French bylaws setting parameters on what women can wear on the beach do not specify the word “burkini” in their language. The law only outlines clothing which is not “respectful of good morals and of secularism.”
The judges in France have upheld the bans and the case has now reached the nation’s highest administrative court for review. The body has 48 hours to deliver a ruling on the bans.
