Former French president Nicholas Sarkozy in vow to ban burkini if re-elected

Former French president Nicholas Sarkozy said he would change the country’s constitution to ban full-body burkini swimsuits if he is re-elected to his former role in a vote next April.

Positioning himself as a defender of French values and tough on immigration, the conservative said last week that he would impose a nationwide ban on the swimwear that has divided the Socialist-led government and dominated political debate through much of August.

France’s highest administrative court suspended on Friday a ban on burkinis that had spread to a dozen French coastal cities on the grounds they violated fundamental liberties.