Burkinis have been barred on the beach in Cannes, in a move the local mayor says is aimed at preventing public disorder.<br /><br /> The ban on full-body, head-covering swimsuits will run in the French Riviera resort until the end of August and police can fine those flouting the rules.<br /><br /> The restriction is being slammed as discriminatory. <br /><br /> “The decree is not the provocation, it’s those who wear this kind of outfit. They are like uniforms,” said David Lisnard, Cannes’ Mayor.<br /><br /> “I think that several people, maybe they wear it in good faith, so we have to explain to them. There are just a few provocative people.”<br /><br /> Full-body ‘burkini’ swimsuits—the ‘uniform of extremist Islamism’—banned from Cannes beaches https://t.co/ZNC71vW5wj pic.twitter.com/ENmHr53X2A— TheBlaze (@theblaze) 12 August 2016<br /><br /> But while officials say the move is in the interests of security, others say it will worsen religious tensions.<br /><br /> “It’s ridiculous because I see naked people and I don’t understand why I can’t be dressed. We do what we want. In schools, I can respect secularism. But on beaches, it’s ridiculous,” said one woman. <br /><br /> The ban – at the height of the summer season – comes after the deadly truck attack in nearby Nice. <br /><br /> “I don’t think wearing a burkini is illegal. Everyone has the right to go to the beach, because it’s a public area,” commented a beach-goer.<br /><br /> “But at the same time, if we think about womens rights, if we accept more and more things like this, it’s like a regression for women.”<br /><br /> In which France continues to ostracize its Muslim population, and then wonders why said population feels disaffected https://t.co/H39Ynu2xR5— Ashley Reese (@offbeatorbit) 12 August 2016<br /><br /> Under French laws, face-covering veils are already banned in public. Head scarves are also forbidden in public schools.<br />
