PARIS: Full-body swimwear including the Burkini should not be worn in public pools in the city of Grenoble, France’s top administrative court ruled on Tuesday, upholding an earlier order by a lower court.
“The new rules of procedure for the municipal swimming pools of Grenoble affect (...) the proper functioning of the public service, and undermines the equal treatment of users, so that the neutrality of public service is compromised,” the Conseil d’Etat said in a statement.
Body-covering swimwear — which leaves only the face, hands and feet exposed — is often worn by Muslim women who wish to preserve their modesty in accordance with their beliefs.
Grenoble’s city council had voted in favor of allowing the use of burkinis on May 16, sparking howls of protest from conservative and far-right politicians.
The city’s move was challenged by the government and a lower administrative court suspended the measure. Grenoble responded by taking its legal fight to the Conseil d’Etat.
After the Conseil d’Etat’s ruling, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Grenoble’s act had been “definitively overruled.”
“A victory for our “separatism” law, for secularism and above all for the Republic,” Darmanin said.
Nobody at Grenoble’s city council was immediately available for comment.
The debate about burkinis has been heated in France since 2016, when a city in the south of France tried to ban them from public beaches. On that occasion, the Conseil d’Etat overturned the ban, saying it infringed fundamental liberties.
There is no nationwide ban in place, but they are prohibited in many public pools across the country.
Far-right party leader Marine Le Pen — who came second after Macron in presidential elections in April and who scored a historic success in Sunday’s legislative elections — has said she wants to introduce a law banning burkinis in municipal pools.
Muslim rights organizations in France have said that bans on burkinis restrict fundamental liberties and discriminate against Muslim women.
France, which has the largest Muslim minority in Europe, estimated at 5 million, in 2010 introduced a ban on full-face niqab and burqa veils in public.
No place for burkinis in Grenoble’s public pools, rules top French court
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No place for burkinis in Grenoble’s public pools, rules top French court
- Grenoble’s city council had voted in favor of allowing the use of burkinis on May 16, sparking howls of protest from conservative and far-right politicians
- After the Conseil d’Etat’s ruling, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Grenoble’s act had been “definitively overruled”
US backs Japan in dispute with China over radar incident
- US criticizes China for radar targeting Japanese aircraft
- Incident follows Japan PM’s remarks on potential Chinese attack on Taiwan
WASHINGTON/TOKYO: The United States has for the first time criticized China for aiming radars at Japanese military aircraft during a training exercise last week, incidents that the Asian neighbors have given differing accounts of amid escalating tensions.
The run-in near Japan’s Okinawa islands comes after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing last month with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan and has not ruled out using force to take control of the island, which sits just over 100 km from Japanese territory and is surrounded by sea lanes that Tokyo relies on.
“China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” a State Department spokesperson said late Tuesday, referring to the radar incident.
“The US-Japan Alliance is stronger and more united than ever. Our commitment to our ally Japan is unwavering, and we are in close contact on this and other issues.”
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Japan late on Tuesday scrambled jets to monitor Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols around the country.
MOST SERIOUS INCIDENT IN YEARS
The Chinese fighter jets aiming their radars at the Japanese planes on Saturday was the most serious run-in between the East Asian militaries in years.
Such moves are seen as a threatening step because it signals a potential attack and may force the targeted plane to take evasive action. Tokyo blasted the moves as “dangerous.”
Beijing, however, said that the Japanese aircraft had repeatedly approached and disrupted the Chinese navy as it was conducting previously announced carrier-based flight training east of the Miyako Strait.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Wednesday, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said China’s drills were “very inappropriate behavior.”
“We also call upon China to demonstrate the responsibility befitting a major power. Peace is priceless; war has no winners. Peace must be fostered by all parties, and China shares this responsibility,” he said.
Relations between Asia’s two largest economies have soured sharply since Takaichi told parliament last month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a “survival-threatening situation” and trigger a potential military response from Tokyo.
Beijing has demanded she retract the remarks, accused Tokyo of threatening it militarily and advised its citizens not to travel to Japan.
US Ambassador to Japan George Glass has publicly expressed support for Japan in several social media posts since the diplomatic dispute began, but President Donald Trump and other senior US officials have remained silent.
Trump, who plans to visit Beijing next year for trade talks, telephoned Takaichi last month, urging her not to escalate the dispute, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
