French burkini ban upheld as Grenoble loses legal challenge
- Published21 June
By Robert Plummer
BBC News
France’s highest administrative court has upheld a ban on full-body “burkini” swimsuits in public pools, rejecting an appeal by the city of Grenoble.
Last month, Grenoble authorised all swimwear, including burkinis, sparking a legal battle with the government.
Burkinis are worn largely by Muslim women as a way of preserving modesty and upholding their faith.
But the court said it could not allow “selective exceptions to the rules to satisfy religious demands”.
ADVERTISEMENT
The dispute went all the way to the Council of State after a local court in Grenoble suspended the ban on the grounds that it seriously undermined the principle of neutrality in public services.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin also weighed in, describing the policy as an “unacceptable provocation” that was contrary to French secular values.
France has strict laws on which swimming costumes can be worn and the issue of religious expression in public places is divisive.
The ban on burkinis in state-run pools is also advocated for reasons of hygiene. Men are normally obliged to wear tight-fitting swimming trunks – another rule that Grenoble unsuccessfully attempted to overturn by permitting longer swimming shorts.
What is a burkini?
- A burkini is a full-body swimsuit that covers everything except the face, hands and feet
- The name is a mix of the words “burka” and “bikini”
- Unlike burkas, burkinis leave the face free
- Burkinis are marketed to Muslim women as a way for them to swim in public while adhering to strict modesty edicts
French opposition to the burkini stretches as far back as 2016, when several local municipalities attempted to outlaw it on beaches for violating the country’s strict separation between religion and the state.
State officials are not allowed to wear religious emblems at work, but the mayor of Grenoble, Eric Piolle, argued that this should not stop users of public services, such as swimming pools, from dressing as they wish.
His administration’s moves to relax the swimwear rules were opposed by the national government, which invoked a law passed last year to combat “Islamist separatism”.
Critics of the burkini see it as offering a separatist vision of French society and argue that allowing it also puts pressure on Muslim women to wear it. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has condemned the burkini as “clothing of Islamist propaganda”.
However, those in favour of allowing it say women should have the choice to keep their bodies covered if they want to and that this does not imply religious extremism.
source https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61883529
A woman, wearing a hijab and a protective face mask, walks at Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, May 2, 2021. (File photo: Reuters)
French presidential campaign spotlights the hijab ban
The Associated Press
Published: 15 April ,2022:
Muslim headscarves took center stage in France’s presidential campaign Friday amid far-right candidate Marine Le Pen’s push to ban them in the country with western Europe’s largest Muslim population.
Both she and rival Emmanuel Macron, facing a tightly contested April 24 runoff, were confronted by women in headscarves who asked why their clothing choices should be caught up in politics.
Macron wouldn’t ban religious clothing, but he has overseen the closure of several mosques and Islamic groups. And many Muslims feel the presidential campaign has unfairly stigmatized their faith.
At a farmers’ market in the southern town of Pertuis, a woman in a blue-and-white head covering approached Le Pen as the candidate weaved past fishmongers and vendors to greet supporters.
“What is the headscarf doing in politics?” the woman asked.
Le Pen defended her position, calling the headscarf a “uniform imposed over time by people who have a radical vision of Islam.”
“That’s not true,” countered the woman. “I started to wear the veil when I was an older woman … For me it is a sign of being a grandmother.” The woman noted that her father had served in the French military for 15 years.
Le Pen’s opposition to the headscarf has encapsulated what her critics say makes her dangerous to French unity, by stigmatizing millions of French Muslims.
Le Pen would also slash immigration and wants to outlaw ritual slaughter, which would restrict French Muslims’ and Jews’ access to kosher and halal meat.
Macron too debated a woman in a Muslim headscarf on Friday in a lively exchange on broadcaster France-Info. He sought to distance himself from Le Pen by saying he would not change any laws, but defended an existing ban on headscarves in schools as part of France’s secular principles.
The woman, Sara El Attar, said she had felt insulted by previous comments by Macron where he’d suggested that headscarves destabilize relations between men and women.
French women “have been castigated these recent years for a simple scarf, without any leader deigning to denounce this injustice,” she said. And she repeated the argument that many veiled women in France make: That people mistakenly think they’re veiled not through personal choice, but because men make them wear headscarves.
Macron sought to defend his record. “For me personally, the question of the headscarf is not an obsession,” Macron said.
But critics say his government stoked prejudice against Muslims by cracking down on what it has claimed are efforts by some Muslims to carve out spaces in France for stricter interpretations of Islam. The government has gone after some schools, mosques and Islamic associations.
France makes condoms free for 18 to 25 year olds
- Published13 hours ago
By Antoinette Radford
BBC News
Young people in France will have free access to condoms from January, in a bid to minimise the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
The French president announced the new health measure on Thursday at an event for young people’s health.
Emmanuel Macron said young people would be able to collect them from pharmacies, and described the move as a “small revolution in prevention”.
In 2020 and 2021 France experienced a 30% national increase in STI rates.
Mr Macron said France had educational challenges around sexual education.
“We are not very good on this subject. The reality is very, very different from the theory,” he said.
The new measure comes alongside other health initiatives targeting the spread of STIs and improving access to contraception.
In 2018 the French government started reimbursing the costs of condoms to individuals, if purchased in a pharmacy with a prescription from a doctor or midwife.
Earlier this year the government made contraception free for all women up to 26 years old – a move that affected three million women. Contraception had previously been free for women and girls 18 or younger.
Mr Macron added in a tweet that Thursday’s announcement will exist alongside other health measures. They include free emergency contraception for all women in pharmacies, and free STI screenings without a prescription, except HIV, to those under the age of 26.
source https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63915467
Categories: Europe, Europe and Australia, European Union, France