French Top Court Overturns Town Burkini Ban

PARIS (CBSNewYork/AP) -- France's top administrative court has overturned a town burkini ban amid shock and anger worldwide after some Muslim women were ordered to remove body-concealing garments on French Riviera beaches.

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

"The emotion and concerns arising from the terrorist attacks, notably the one perpetrated in Nice on July 14, cannot suffice to justify in law the contested prohibition measure," it ruled.

Lawyers for two human rights groups challenged the legality of the ban to the top court, saying the orders infringe basic freedoms and that mayors have overstepped their powers by telling women what to wear on beaches.

"This is a great victory for religious liberty in France," lawyer Patrice Spinosi, representing the Human Rights League, told CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk after the ruling. "The Conseil d'Etat has rendered a very important decision and has given a juridical answer to the political French polemic about the burkini."

Spinosi also said women who have already received fines can protest them based on Friday's decision.

Mayors had cited concern about public order after deadly Islamic extremist attacks this summer, and many officials have argued that burkinis oppress women.

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