Friday, 29 March 2024
Burkini ban follows Corsica beach brawl

Burkini ban follows Corsica beach brawl

A village mayor in Corsica has banned full-body swimsuits known as "burkinis" after a beach brawl between families of North African descent and local youths.

The ban was imposed at a special council session on Sunday in Sisco amid tensions over the brawl, in which five people were hurt.

Authorities in Cannes and Villeneuve-Loubet, on the French Riviera, also banned Islamic burkinis this month.

Witnesses say hatchets and harpoons were used in the Sisco beach brawl.

The five injured on Saturday were later discharged from hospital, but tensions are simmering in the area.

Tension has grown this summer between local communities and Muslims of North African origin in the south of France, especially following the massacre of 85 people by a lorry driver on the seafront at Nice on 14 July.

(BBC News)