Burqini bans cause ripples in France, protests abroad
The decision by a handful of French mayors to ban the Muslim Burqini swimsuit has divided the country and shocked its neighbors, with critics seeing the prohibitions as profoundly discriminatory.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Wednesday waded into the debate, saying the garment was “not compatible with the values of France and the Republic” and that he supported towns that banned it.
His remarks propelled the latest row over the place of Islam in France from the beaches onto the political front benches.
Valls cited the tensions in France after a string of militants attacks — including last month’s truck massacre in Nice — for backing mayors who barred a garment “founded on the subjugation of women.”
The Burqini, which covers the body and hair, is a “provocation” that risks causing “public disorder,” he told La Provence daily, echoing the mayor of Cannes, where three women have been fined 38 euros (US$43.04) for sporting the swimsuit.
However, Valls ruled out implementing any nationwide ban.
His intervention came as the mayor of the
northern resort of Le Touquet announced he would follow the lead of his counterparts in the south.
Le Touquet Mayor Daniel Fasquelle told reporters he had yet to catch sight of a Burqini in his town, but did not want to be caught “off guard.”
Beyond France’s shores the bans, which one mayor sought to pass off on hygiene grounds, have been widely ridiculed.
“France cites latest threat to security: The Burkini,” the International New York Times teased in a front-page headline last week.
“The French emphasis on keeping religious attire out of public life can at times seem strange to foreigners,” the paper wrote, saying that head-covering bathing suits had been worn by several Arab athletes at the Rio Olympics without causing disturbances.
For Britain’s Daily Telegraph, the Burqini bans enacted in the name of combating extremism were themselves “foolish acts of fanaticism.”
While voicing understanding for France’s security jitters, the paper said there was “no earthly reason why banning them [Burqinis] would help to thwart France’s violent Islamists. If anything, it is more likely to alienate and upset moderate Muslims,” it said.
Italian Minister of the Interior Angelino Alfano on Wednesday said he believed the French model — which stresses the need for immigrant communities to assimilate — had failed.
The Burqini bans were “a potential provocation” and could make France even more vulnerable to attack, he said.
Sociologist Michel Wieviorka said the brouhaha is proof of a “radicalization on all sides — by nationalists, secularists and Islamists ... Politicians should try to calm tensions and stop creating hysteria.”
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2016/08/19/2003653440Who:French mayors
Where:France
what:ban the Muslim Burqini swimsuit
How:has divided the country and shocked its neighbors
1.prohibitions 禁止
2.discriminatory 歧視性
3.disorder 紊亂
4.implementing實施
5.disturbances 干擾
6.alienate 離間
7.potential 潛在
8.provocation 挑釁
9.radicalization 激進化
10.hysteria 歇斯底里
I think that women in Muslim wearing Burqini swimsuits do not commit a crime, but a handful of French mayors banned that. I consider that is the profoundly discriminatory.
回覆刪除French should not ban they who wearing Burqini swimsuits, because they are not thieves or killers. They just want to play and swim at the beach like ordinary people, but they should be punished according to law, it is not fair.
I think the French government has no power to control the public domain, they can not force others to wear what clothing.Any clothing has its core value. By the way, wearing "Burqini" is really more practical than "Bikini". It can anti-body temperature and water loss. Bikini is for a particular beauty and born, it isn't at all practical.
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