France's Nice Bans Burkinis After Other French Riviera Cities

Nice has become the 11th French city to ban so-called burkinis on municipal beaches following a decree by city authorities, the local Nice-Matin newspaper reported Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in August, municipal authorities in a number of French coastal cities on the French Riviera prohibited the burkini, which refers to swimsuits that cover most of the body to comply with the Muslim instruction to dress modestly, due to security concerns.

Christian Estrosi, the first deputy mayor of Nice, wrote to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls earlier, expressing support for the mayors of other cities who have banned the burkini and calling for a nation-wide ban on the suitwear which he claims is alien to French society.

Nice has now joined Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Cannes, Cap d'ail, Eze, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Menton, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Villeneuve-Loubet, as well as Saint-Laurent-du-Var, which adopted a similar measure earlier in the day.

The ban comes after a deadly terrorist attack shook the city on July 14. A truck controlled by a radicalized Tunisian national rammed into a large crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, killing at least 85 people.

In 2011, France banned women from wearing face-covering veils in public places. The European Court of Human Rights upheld the ban in 2014.