Burkini ban violates basic freedoms, top French court rules

France's top administrative court has overturned a ban on burkinis in a Mediterranean beach resort, effectively meaning that towns can no longer issue bans on the swimsuits that have divided the country and brought world attention to its fraught relationship with Muslims.

The ruling by the Council of State specifically concerns a ban on the burkini in the Riviera town of Villeneuve-Loubet, but the binding decision is expected to affect all the 30 or so French resort municipalities that have issued similar decrees.