Burkini Ban Sparks Controversy at French Leisure Park, Lifeguard Faces Backlash

Since Sunday, the controversy over the burkini at the Boucles de Seine leisure island in Moisson has been raging because a lifeguard asked a young woman to remove her burkini to swim. "We are accused of Islamophobia, racism when we are simply applying the regulations," deplores the director of the base, Ivica Jovic, to Le Parisien. On the web, threatening messages have been issued against the lifeguard. "We’ll see if he’ll make the law this summer when the whole neighborhood shows up," writes an internet user.

The manager of the base is concerned about possible disturbances. "We hope it won’t go any further," he said. Faced with the threats, the security system of the leisure island has been reinforced. The gendarmerie has also been warned. "We are not intimidated. [...] We will not back down in the face of an Islamist offensive that is trying to gangrene our country," hammered Patrice Karam, a regional elected official of Libres! in charge of sports and leisure.