Burkini Ban Busted! French Court Says No to Criminalizing Muslim Swimwear

France's top court struck down a ban on Muslim women's swimwear known as "burkinis."

Artur Widak/Sipa USA/Newscom

On Friday, France's highest administrative court ruled that French leaders may not ban burkinis, the full-coverage swimming garments favored by Muslim women, from public beaches.

The French Council of State ruling related specifically to the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, but it should also block bans passed by dozens of French towns and cities recently amid alleged concerns about terrorism.

For more on the burkini bans—and the flawed logic backing them—see Reason's previous coverage:

• The Bare Truth About Burkinis: Women can decide for themselves how much to expose and why.
• Non-Religous Fundamentalists: Secular and socially-liberal Americans are blasting the French burkini bans. Yet when it comes to spreading "tolerance" here, will we get the message?
• The Loophole That Allows French Bans on Veils, Head Scarves, and (Probably) Burkinis: Freedom of religion is supposedly guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, but there are many exceptions.
• France's Burkini Ban is the Ridiculous Yet Totally Predictable Result of Legislating Morality: The French government has long tried to mandate correct thinking and secularism by curbing free expression.

French court suspends burkini ban in Villeneuve-Loubet after challenge pic.twitter.com/XuRA4HsBun

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 26, 2016