Target: The Conseil D’Etat
Goal: Applaud senior judges of France’s highest court for ruling bans on body-covering swimwear are a violation of fundamental liberties.
The highest court in France has ruled that the ban on body-covering swimwear passed by a small community near Nice violates the fundamental liberties of French citizens. This undermines the legitimacy of similar bylaws passed in the past month by 30 municipal and local governments mostly in the country’s Southeast. The ruling comes after international and domestic protests against the laws and petitions such as this one from ForceChange.
In recent weeks, images of armed police surrounding a woman wearing body-covering clothing on a beach and ordering her to take it off have ignited controversy. Many people have pointed to the similarities between laws banning so-called burkinis and laws regulating what women may wear instituted by hardline conservative regimes across the world.
This ruling is an important step away from further marginalizing France’s Muslim communities. Sign our petition to applaud this ruling.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Judges of the Conseil D’Etat,
I am writing to applaud the ruling in the case concerning the ban on full-body swimwear passed by the commune of Villeneuve-Loubet. I am glad that the court upheld the right of women to wear what they choose. The police must not be used as a tool of humiliation.
In truth, I believe that these bans are a greater threat to the state than any garment worn to swim could be. They contribute to the further marginalization of a marginalized community and will help to radicalize people through their use in ISIS propaganda. I hope this ruling is the end of these laws.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Landahlauts
burkini or nude!