In France, there has been cyclical discussion for years about the “burqini” (or “burkini”), a type of bathing suit for Muslim women that leaves only the face, hands and feet uncovered. In recent weeks, French newspapers have spoken again about making the proposal to allow the use of the burqini in public swimming pools in Grenoble, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The measure was narrowly approved by the local city council on Monday, amid much criticism and accusations of having strayed too far from the strong idea of secularism circulating in the country.
The burqini is banned in most French public pools, where you have to wear a certain type of attire set by fairly strict rules.
In Grenoble, in south-eastern France, the initiative to authorize use in swimming pools was presented by a citizens’ group that had organized various demonstrations and “acts of civil disobedience” since 2019, arguing that the ban was discriminatory against Muslim women. Then she was also supported by Mayor Éric Piolle, at the head of a grand left-wing coalition and one of the most prominent politicians in the Greens.
Piolle said the proposal doesn’t specifically affect the burqini, but rather what he called “absurd restrictions”: for example, the rule that men must wear short, tight-fitting shorts. Under the new provision, adopted by 29 votes in favor, 27 against, and two abstentions, those who visit the city’s public pools can “dress as they please,” Piolle told RMC: This means not not only that the use of the burqini, but also that men can wear longer costumes and women can swim topless for example.
Despite being accepted, Piolle’s proposal was still heavily criticized in the city council, even by the Greens themselves, who did not support it. In general, those who oppose the use of the burqini see it as a garment that does not respect women’s rights or as a possible security issue: one of the central aspects is that it is seen as a religious symbol rather than a bathing suit.
– Also read: What do we mean when we speak of “veil”?
France is a country strongly linked to the idea of secularism and in recent years the issue of clothing worn in public places for religious reasons has repeatedly raised discussions, especially for security reasons related to the Islamist inspired terrorist attacks that have taken more deals with the country.
Since 2004, French law has banned the display of religious symbols in schools and universities, and since 2010, it has banned the public wearing of veils that cover the face, such as the niqab, which leaves only the eyes uncovered.
Discussions about the burqini intensified particularly in the summer of 2016 after the Nice massacre, in which a man swept through the crowd in a truck, killing 86 people. The attack followed a few months after the violent November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, later claimed by ISIS, which killed 130 people, and preceded the attack on the Saint-Étienne church in Normandy by a few days, after which a priest was killed.
Due to the climate of great tension and distrust towards Muslim communities in France, the mayors of about thirty French cities, including Nice, decided in the summer of 2016 to ban access to the city beaches to anyone who did not wear clothing they considered appropriate and respectful of good ones manners and secularism, including Catholic nuns. Within a few days, the French Council of State – the highest body of French administrative jurisdiction – overrode the bans as inadmissible: the mayor of Nice, however, specified that the regulation was primarily intended for the burqini, precisely for the burqini reasons for safety in the Link to recent attacks despite being a garment that leaves the face completely uncovered.
– Also read: The Afro hair swim cap debate
The city of Rennes, capital of Brittany, became the first French city in 2019 to authorize the use of burqini and any type of swimsuit in public pools.
In general, the 2010 law does not prohibit the wearing of the burqini in public places, but according to some, it belongs to a vision of religion and society that does not reflect the values of France and the Republic. Another problem is that there is no uniform legal definition of burqini, which has caused problems over time: in 2016, for example, some Muslim women in Cannes were turned away from the beach because their bodies were covered with t-shirts, long pants and wore a hat. .
The proposal to be allowed to wear it in public swimming pools in Grenoble was fiercely contested by the president of the government of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the conservative Laurent Wauquiez, who accused the municipality of violating the state’s secular principles in order to protect the to win votes from the Muslim community and had threatened to cut public funding for the city. After the regulation was approved, former Grenoble mayor Alain Carignon instead suggested that the center organize a popular referendum to review the decision, arguing that the city council could not “force” a regulation on such a sensitive issue.
Criticism also came from President Emmanuel Macron’s office: On Monday, a spokesman told Radio J that Piolle “does not seem to realize the damage he is doing to our Republican values” and that he supports “religious political ideas” with this provision.