Swimming pools in French town close in row over burkini ban
The two municipal swimming pools in the southeast French city of Grenoble have been closed, despite the current heatwave, after a row over the use of full-body burkini swimsuit, the local mayor said on Wednesday.
On Sunday, and last month, Muslim women clad in burkinis went to swim in the pools at the initiative of the Alliance Citoyenne rights group, despite a municipal ban on the full-body swimwear.
The lifeguards at the pools asked for the shutdown because "they are there to maintain safety and they can't do that when they have to worry about the crowds," generated by the controversial swimsuits, the town hall said in a statement.
READ ALSO Muslim headscarves are legal in France, so why the moral panic about a sports hijab?
Alors que certain·e·s y voient une avancée de “l’islam politique”, ces femmes en bikini et #burkini ont raconté à AJ+ pourquoi elles ont décidé d’aller nager ensemble dans une piscine municipale malgré l’interdiction. pic.twitter.com/82L59XE6Ch
— AJ+ français (@ajplusfrancais) 25 June 2019
"We are working towards a positive solution" to the problem, it added.
The row is the latest in France over face- and body-covering garments worn by Muslim women, which many perceive as subjugating women in a country with strict laws on secularism.
France - the country with Europe's largest Muslim population - was the first European country to ban the full-veil in public spaces in 2011.
The European Court of Human Rights upheld the ban in 2014, rejecting arguments that outlawing full-face veils breached religious freedom.
Earlier this year French sports retailer Decathlon was forced to back down from a plan to sell a runner's hijab in France after coming under fire.
Pourquoi les deux piscines #Municipales de #Grenoble seront-elles fermées ce jeudi ? https://t.co/AQjxjjjkLl (@F3Rhone_Alpes) #grenoble #isère #burkini #religion pic.twitter.com/QUTkTHlj7u
— Actualité à Lyon (@pictanews) 27 June 2019
Far-right politicians expressed their opposition to the burkini on Monday the day after the event in Grenoble.
Seven burkini-clad women, accompanied by activists, went to the Grenoble pools on Sunday demanding the right to bathe despite the facility's rules.
They said the ban was discrimination.
The women want the public pools, which currently require men to wear swim briefs and women to wear bikinis or one-piece swimsuits, to change their regulations to accommodate burkini wearers.
Local member of parliament Eric Ciotti, of the rightwing Republicans party, said on Twitter that the burkini "has no place in France where women are equal to men".
But the Alliance Citoyenne likened the women's action to that of US civil rights icon Rosa Parks.
The burkini was at the centre of a standoff in several French seaside towns three years ago - some towns banned the garment, claiming it was a security threat, only to have the bans later overturned by a court.
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On Sunday, and last month, Muslim women clad in burkinis went to swim in the pools at the initiative of the Alliance Citoyenne rights group, despite a municipal ban on the full-body swimwear.
The lifeguards at the pools asked for the shutdown because "they are there to maintain safety and they can't do that when they have to worry about the crowds," generated by the controversial swimsuits, the town hall said in a statement.
READ ALSO Muslim headscarves are legal in France, so why the moral panic about a sports hijab?
Alors que certain·e·s y voient une avancée de “l’islam politique”, ces femmes en bikini et #burkini ont raconté à AJ+ pourquoi elles ont décidé d’aller nager ensemble dans une piscine municipale malgré l’interdiction. pic.twitter.com/82L59XE6Ch
— AJ+ français (@ajplusfrancais) 25 June 2019
"We are working towards a positive solution" to the problem, it added.
The row is the latest in France over face- and body-covering garments worn by Muslim women, which many perceive as subjugating women in a country with strict laws on secularism.
France - the country with Europe's largest Muslim population - was the first European country to ban the full-veil in public spaces in 2011.
The European Court of Human Rights upheld the ban in 2014, rejecting arguments that outlawing full-face veils breached religious freedom.
Earlier this year French sports retailer Decathlon was forced to back down from a plan to sell a runner's hijab in France after coming under fire.
Pourquoi les deux piscines #Municipales de #Grenoble seront-elles fermées ce jeudi ? https://t.co/AQjxjjjkLl (@F3Rhone_Alpes) #grenoble #isère #burkini #religion pic.twitter.com/QUTkTHlj7u
— Actualité à Lyon (@pictanews) 27 June 2019
Far-right politicians expressed their opposition to the burkini on Monday the day after the event in Grenoble.
Seven burkini-clad women, accompanied by activists, went to the Grenoble pools on Sunday demanding the right to bathe despite the facility's rules.
They said the ban was discrimination.
The women want the public pools, which currently require men to wear swim briefs and women to wear bikinis or one-piece swimsuits, to change their regulations to accommodate burkini wearers.
Local member of parliament Eric Ciotti, of the rightwing Republicans party, said on Twitter that the burkini "has no place in France where women are equal to men".
But the Alliance Citoyenne likened the women's action to that of US civil rights icon Rosa Parks.
The burkini was at the centre of a standoff in several French seaside towns three years ago - some towns banned the garment, claiming it was a security threat, only to have the bans later overturned by a court.
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