Solène Leroux, with AFP 6:17 a.m., June 15, 2022

The Council of State examined Tuesday in Paris the appeal filed by the city of Grenoble and its mayor Éric Piolle concerning the burkini following the suspension by the administrative court of the city of a controversial provision authorizing its wearing in swimming pools municipal.

The decision is expected in the coming days.

Éric Piolle's last resort.

The Council of State examined Tuesday in Paris the appeal filed by the municipality of Grenoble and its mayor concerning the burkini.

This follows the city administrative court's suspension of a controversial provision allowing it to be worn in municipal swimming pools.

This decision by the city council sparked a national controversy in mid-May.

The Grenoble court had ordered this suspension following the filing by the prefect of Isère of a “secular referral” aimed at article 10 of the new swimming pool regulations of Grenoble.

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Discrimination on "purely religious grounds"

The judges had considered that the article in question would allow users to derogate "from the general rule of the obligation to wear close-fitting outfits to allow certain users to free themselves from this rule for religious purposes", and that its authors had thereby "seriously undermined the principle of public service neutrality".

A position shared by Me Frédéric Thiriez, lawyer with the Council of State.

He represents the League of International Women's Law in this case: "It seems clear to me that the city of Grenoble has seriously disregarded the principle of neutrality in public service by granting an exception to the general rule - tight swimsuits close to the body for hygienic reasons - "only for the benefit of the burkini and for religious reasons", he declared at the microphone of Europe 1.

According to him, "bathing suits/shorts are prohibited" in Grenoble, which is "good proof of discrimination enacted for a purely religious reason".

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Decision in the next few days

Conversely, Me Olivier Coudray, the lawyer for the city of Grenoble, considers that "the user has the right to ask that his beliefs be respected".

He was present at the hearing on Tuesday, it was he who filed the appeal, after the decision of the Grenoble administrative court on May 25. 

And to add: "A community has the right to ensure that the operation of the service is adapted to take account of this desire of the user, provided that it is not done in defiance of the normal rules of operation of the service. ", like a swimsuit that is too large, like shorts.

"I do not see, for my part, how wearing a bathing suit rather than another would affect the normal operation of the public swimming pool service", said Me Coudray again.

According to the Council of State, the decision is expected in the coming days, or even at the beginning of next week.