France's controversial burkini ban could be scrapped today as the country's supreme court prepares to rule whether it breaches human rights.
The ban has sparked controversial scenes on some French beaches as women have been approached by armed police and ordered to remove clothing - sometimes in front of their children.
Feminist groups have said women are being subjected to 'racist and sexist acts of humiliation'.
Even the radical group Femen, which regularly storms cathedrals so as to mock worshippers and clergy, said persecuting burkini wearers meant ‘we are no better than a dictator’.
Such views will today be considered by the Council of State in Paris, where lawyers for the Human Rights League will call for the measure to be scrapped.
A burkini is a swimsuit which conforms to the traditions of Islamic dress by covering the woman's body except the face.
Judges in Nice on Monday insisted that a ban was ‘necessary, appropriate and proportionate’, following the deaths of 86 people in a lorry attack in the city claimed by Islamic State.
They said the burkini was ‘liable to offend the religious convictions or non-convictions of other users on the beach’.
But critics point to the fact that 30 Muslims were among the dead in Nice, and that the attack had absolutely nothing to do with swimwear.
Instead they say it is being used by racists to spread collective guilt among five million plus French Muslims, many of whom have strong links to former French colonies.
As the authorities in resorts such as Nice and Cannes have come under criticism after appearing to force women remove clothing when they have not been wearing burkinis.
The burkini ban will be considered by the Council of State this afternoon.
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