French court overturns Cannes burkini ban
A French court has overturned a ban on burkinis issued in Cannes - the first in a series of bans on the swimwear this summer that set off a heated controversy at home and a wave of outrage abroad.
The court in Nice concluded that the Cannes decree violated basic freedoms and was illegal because there were no proven risks of disruption to public order, or reasons of hygiene or decency, for the ban in the famous Riviera resort.
The decision followed a ruling by a top French court regarding a similar ban in the Riviera town of Villeneuve-Loubet that set a legal precedent.
After the Council of State overturned that ban last week, human rights groups said they would challenge similar bans issued in 30 or so municipalities.
The bans grew increasingly controversial as images circulated online of some Muslim women being ordered to remove body-concealing garments on French Riviera beaches.
Lawyers for a human rights group and a Muslim collective challenged the legality of the Villeneuve-Loubet ban at the top court, saying the orders infringed basic freedoms and that mayors had overstepped their powers by telling women what to wear on beaches.
Mayors had cited multiple reasons for the...