A Muslim Frenchwoman says she was fined and faced racial abuse for wearing a hair-covering veil on a Cannes beach, reports BBC News.
The woman, a Toulouse native named only as Siam, was strolling on the beach while on holiday with her two children.
She said she was told by three police officers that her clothing was "not correct". Meanwhile, she says, a crowd gathered, some shouting: "Go home!"
The Cannes mayor earlier this month banned full-body swimsuits known as "burkinis" from the beach.
David Lisnard said they were a "symbol of Islamic extremism" and might spark scuffles, as France is the target of Islamist attacks.
The working of his ruling suggests it could be applied to any "beachwear which ostentatiously displays religious affiliation".
In this case, Siam, 34, says she was wearing not a burkini but a hijab covering only her hair, along with leggings and a tunic.
"I wasn't intending on bathing, just dipping my feet in the water," Siam told the website of weekly magazine L'Obs.
Approached by the police officers, Siam says they asked her whether she was aware of the order in force in Cannes, and she said she had not followed it closely.
She says she was then told that beach users had to wear "proper dress". The officers suggested she could remain on the beach if she rearranged her scarf as a headband around the head.
She refused, and was fined 11 euros - a fine which, reports suggest, she will contest.
Siam says that by this point a crowd had gathered, and although some defended her, others began applauding the police, telling her to "go home" and saying "Here, we are Catholic!"
This account was confirmed by a journalist who also came across the scene.
"Racist speech was completely unleashed," Siam said. "I was stunned."
"Because of people who have nothing to do with my religion have killed, I no longer have the right to go to the beach!"
Siam said she thought hard before going public about the incident, which happened on August 16th, but "could not let it go in our country".
"Today we are forbidden from the beach. Tomorrow, the street?"