See this report at the BBC site
Stop Press: it is almost beyond belief but a) various mayors are behaving as if the Conseil d'Etat makes rulings for fun and b) this now comes from Manuel Valls, the prime minister and a figure I have admired for his attempts to counter French resistance to change. "Her [Marianne, symbol of the republic] breast's exposed because she's feeding the people; she isn't wearing a veil because she's free."
For the French, we had our vaches folles. For anyone who rather admires the values embraced by the high-minded national motto of liberté, égalité, fraternité, France has had its maires fous. No, not mad horses in place of mad cows (BSE) but utterly foolish, however well-meaning mayors. The gruesome French burkini saga may or may or not have been brought to an end by the Conseil d'Etat's ruling on Friday suspending the ban in one French resort. But this has not been France at its best, as I argue at The National ...
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