The French education minister has weighed in on criticism of the controversial burkini ban on some of the country's beaches, arguing that forbidding Islamic-inspired swimwear opens a gateway for racial discrimination.
"This clears the way for racist slogans," Najat Vallaut-Belkacem said in a radio interview on Thursday, hours before France's top administrative court, the Council of State, was to examine whether the ban is discriminatory.
"It raises the question of individual liberties," Vallaut-Belkacem told radio broadcaster Europe 1.
However, Prime Minister Manuel Valls defended the ban in an interview with TV channel BFMTV, claiming that the burkini - a swimwear garment designed to cover the arms, legs and head in keeping with Islamic standards of modesty - symbolised the enslavement of women.
The debate intensified as pictures began circulating online earlier in the week that show a woman surrounded by four policemen removing her long-sleeved top on a beach in Nice.
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Former president and upcoming election hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy called the burkini a "provocation" in comments to channel TF1.
Nice, which is on high alert following a deadly terrorist attack during Bastille Day celebrations in July, is one of several places in southern France where a burkini ban is now in place.
