The mayors of 28 French towns are maintaining burkini bans in defiance of a court ruling, as the issue becomes a key one to the presidential campaign. Its conservative mayor has said he will comply with the decision, which set a legal precedent for the other 30 seaside towns that banned the burkini. RelatedA Socialist mayor in northern France and a centrist in the south-east also decided to lift bans at the weekend. Most of the other 28 mayors belong to the centre-Right Republicans or the far-Right Front National. After the court ruling, the mayors of several Riviera resorts urged municipal police to redouble their efforts to keep beaches free from burkinis, which are worn by a tiny minority of Muslim women in France.

Source: National Post August 29, 2016 12:56 UTC