A second French Riviera resort has announced a ban against “burkinis” as uproar continues over the prohibition in Cannes, reports The Independent.
Lionnel Luca, the mayor of Villeneuve-Loubet, said the prohibition of full-body swimsuits worn by some Muslim women was for sanitary reasons.
“I was told that there was a couple on one of our beaches where the wife was swimming fully dressed, and I considered that unacceptable for hygienic reasons and unwelcome given the general situation,” he told the AFP news agency.
“In France, one does not come to the beach dressed to display one’s religious convictions, especially as they are false convictions that the religion does not demand.”
Mr Luca did not stipulate how the ban would be enforced.
A new local by-law states that throughout the summer, until 31 August, the burkini is banned on the region's popular beaches.