French court to rule on legality of local 'burkini' ban

France's highest administrative court is set to rule on the legality of a local ban on the so-called "burkini" swimwear in a southern resort.

The ruling by the Conseil d'Etat, due on Friday, will decide on the ban in place in Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice.

The session comes days after images surfaced of French police in Nice asking a Muslim woman to take off a full-sleeved top after it was perceived to be a "burkini". 

A "burkini" covers the whole body except the face, hands and feet and light enough so the user is able to swim, and resembles a wet suit with a hood.

The challenge to the ban is being headed by the French Human Rights League and the Collective against Islamophobia in France.

Bernard Stirn, the conseil's chairman and one of three judges making the decision, said the verdict would be issued on Friday at 3pm local time.

Earlier this week a Nice court ruled that a ban on "burkinis" in Villeneuve-Loubet was "necessary, appropriate and proportionate" to prevent public disorder after a succession of terrorism attacks in France.

The Nice court also said the "burkini" was “liable to offend the religious convictions or non-convictions of other users on the beach”.

Some rights groups, on the other hand, called the ban a serious and illegal attack on numerous fundamental rights – including freedom of religion – and have urged that the measure be scrapped amid fears Muslims are being increasingly stigmatised.

Patrice Spinosi, a lawyer for the Human Rights League, denounced the ban as an "attack on freedom of conscience and religion," and urged the judges to "recuse themselves from political controversy and rule according to the law".

"You must be the compass that indicates the path of liberties," he said, noting the likely "significant impact" of the Conseil d'Etat verdict.

Francois Pinatel, a lawyer representing the city of Villeneuve-Loubet, advocated "a special situation" within "a particular geography with extreme stress," referring to an attack in Nice in July claimed by the Islamic State group.

The Conseil d'Etat’s decision will have implications for the 26 other towns that have similar decrees. 

The decision comes during the run up to the French presidential elections as candidates from across the political spectrum vye for power. 

The former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, called for a nationwide ban on the "burkini" on Thursday as he launched his presidential campaign to reclaim France "for the French". 

Sarkozy described how the country needed to be saved from minorities, Muslims and the left who were threatening to destroy French Identity. 

“I refuse to let the "burkini" impose itself at French beaches and swimming pools ... there must be a law to ban it throughout the Republic’s territory," said Sarkozy in a speech launching his French Presidential campaign after losing to current French President Francois Hollande. 

He also described the "burkini" as a "provocation" to the French republic and affront to French identity. 

Opinion of the ban has also divided the French government. The education minister, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, said that despite her personal disapproval of the garment, the ban could lead to racial discrimination. 

The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, however, described a "burkini" as symbolising "the enslavement of women," but said enforcement of bans had to be conducted respectfully. 

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also weighed in on the debate during a press conference with Paris' mayor, Anne Hidalgo. 

"I don't think anybody should be telling women what they can or what they can't wear," he said.

Hidalgo called for an end to the "hysteria" surrounding the ban and renewed calls for efforts to be made to improve social cohesion in France.