What is Behind the Burkini Controversy? Making Feminist Sense of French Republican Ideology

In the summer of 2016, a number of French mayors decided to ban the wearing of the burkini – a full-body swimsuit used by some Muslim women – in their cities. This so-called "burkini ban" developed into a media frenzy and a heated debate about women's rights, public secularism, and the republican social order. Although the ban was overturned by the French Council of State, it is illustrative of recent developments in French public discourse. By employing a morphological approach to the study of French republican ideology, my paper will shed light on how it became possible for French mayors to ban full-body swimsuits from their beaches, for high-ranking politicians to join them in arguing that such a ban was necessary, and for lower courts to legitimate such a position. The aim of this analysis is twofold. First, my empirical analysis will trace the emergence and development of the burkini controversy – a debate which started in individual municipalities and quickly reached national attention before arriving all the way to the highest administrative court. In doing so, I will highlight the instrumentalization of "women's rights," bodies, and appearances in a context of long-lasting tensions between French public secularism (laïcité) and the country's Muslim population. Second, and most importantly, I will argue that the burkini controversy would not have been possible in the absence of discursive and legal precedents limiting individual religious freedom in the name of the "common good." Indeed, especially since the 2010 ban on face-covering, French political elites have relied heavily on the notions of "public order" and "social cohesion" in legitimizing measures that have restricted women's religious attire in a number of contexts, thereby deflecting attention away from the issue of discrimination.