French court suspends burkini ban after challenge

Paris - The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) hailed the ruling as "a victory for common sense".

France's highest administrative court on Friday suspended a ban on the Islamic burkini swimsuit brought by a French Riviera town after it was challenged by rights groups.
In a judgement expected to set a precedent, the State Council ruled that local authorities could only restrict individual liberties if there was a "proven risk" to public order.
The case before the court concerned the French Riviera resort of Villeneuve-Loubet, one of around 30 towns which have passed burkini bans.
The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) hailed the ruling as "a victory for common sense".
Police have fined Muslim women for wearing burkinis on beaches in towns including in the renowned Riviera resorts of Nice and Cannes.
Lawyer Patrice Spinosi, representing the Human Rights League, told reporters that other mayors who have banned burkinis must conform to Friday's decision regarding the town of Villeneuve-Loubet. He also said women who have already received fines can protest them based on Friday's decision.
"It is a decision that is meant to set legal precedent," he said. "Today all the ordinances taken should conform to the decision of the Council of State. Logically the mayors should withdraw these ordinances. If not legal actions could be taken" against those towns.
"Today the state of law is that these ordinances are not justified. They violate fundamental liberties and they should be withdrawn."
Human Rights League was among the groups that brought the lawsuit against the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, saying the orders infringe basic freedoms.
Mayor won't lift ban
The mayor of Sisco in northern Corsica says he won't lift his ban on the burkini despite a ruling by France's top administrative court regarding a similar ban in another town.
Ange-Pierre Vivoni had banned the burkini after an August 13 clash on a beach in Sisco.
He told BFM-TV Friday: "Here the tension is very, very, very strong and I won't withdraw it."
He conceded he doesn't know whether a woman was actually wearing a burkini the day a clash occurred that set a group of sunbathers of North African origin, from another town, against villagers from Sisco.
It took days to untangle the events leading to the violence that many immediately assumed was over a burkini siting.