The Council of State suspended on Friday the anti-burkini decree issued by the commune of Villeneuve-Loubet (Cรดte d’Azur) and emphasized insistently that any ban on these very concealing Islamic swimsuits must be based on “proven risks” to public order.
These anti-burkini decrees have sparked a feverish debate about the place of Islam in France, which politicians have seized upon amidst a presidential campaign, with the often dismayed gaze of international media.
In fact, this farce has taken up too much space in the public debate and finally, we can return to more serious matters.
Moreover, there is no shortage of arguments, and it would be better to devote one’s best energies to them without flitting too far to the right and/or too far to the left.
Response of the Council of State
“In the absence of such risks, the emotion and concerns resulting from terrorist attacks, particularly the one committed in Nice last July 14, cannot suffice to legally justify the ban” decided in Villeneuve-Loubet, another commune of the Cรดte d’Azur, indicated the Council of State in its order.
In this final decision, which will set a precedent for all administrative courts in France, the Council of State reminds all mayors who have invoked the principle of secularism that they cannot rely on “other considerations” than public order, “proper access to the shore, swimming safety, as well as hygiene and decency” to prohibit access to beaches.
In the thirty other communes that have enacted similar decrees, the municipal decrees remain in effect until they are contested in court. The decision of the Council of State regarding the decree of Villeneuve-Loubet is intended as a landmark ruling. It establishes that, in the event of an appeal, the other decrees will also be overturned by the highest administrative court in France.
