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A MAYOR ON the French island of Corsica today became the third nationwide to announce a ban on burkinis, following weekend clashes allegedly sparked by a row over the full-body Islamic swimsuit.
The announcement by the mayor of the village of Sisco follows similar prohibitions in the Riviera towns of Cannes and Villeneuve-Loubet, which have also controversially banned the garment from their beaches in recent weeks.
Sisco’s Socialist mayor Ange-Pierre Vivoni said he aimed to “protect the population” after clashes Saturday in a cove outside his village in the north of the Mediterranean island that left five people injured.
Around 100 police were deployed to break up the fight between locals and families of North African origin that reportedly began over tourists taking pictures of women swimming in burkinis.
Three cars were set alight after the rivals, some of whom were armed with hatchets, hurled stones and bottles. Five people were hospitalised.
Vivoni told AFP in a telephone interview his decision to ban the burkini was “not against the Muslim religion but to avoid the spread of fundamentalism.”
I am absolutely not racist. I want to protect the population, notably my area’s Muslim population because I think that they are the main victims of these extremist provocations.
The move comes at a highly sensitive time for relations with France’s Muslim community following a series of jihadist attacks, mostly by young French acolytes of the Islamic State group.
Prosecutors in nearby Bastia said an inquiry had been opened to determine the cause of the weekend violence.
Vivoni said tensions over religion had been building in northern Corsica for a while.
There were tense scenes yesterday as around 500 nationalists gathered in the northeastern town of Bastia, seeking to enter the Lupino district which is home to a large North African community.
The police blocked them from entering.
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Bernie…Bernie come back ..we’re sorry don’t leave us with this muppit….
@David cotter: if it was Bernie v Trump…then Trump would definitely win…. he’ll probably win anyway but Bernie would make it a certainty.
@SFAnkleTapper: Trump would disagree with you. He’s on tape as saying Sanders would have beat him in 2016 and a lot of Trump voters would have voted for Sanders also.
@SFAnkleTapper: What on earth are you talking about? Every single recent poll has Bernie Sanders and Biden both beating Trump in a general election. Not even Fox News has Trump winning.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/
@Benedict XVI: would they be the same polls that had Hillary as a shoe in? Btw I’m no Trump supporter.
@Corporate capitalism is killing us: your actually using Trump as a basis for a credible story….
@SFAnkleTapper: Biden is a bumbling clown who needs to retire, check his gaffes on YouTube. Bernie would be far stronger them sleepy Joe.
@SFAnkleTapper: Biden’s greatest strength is that it is Trump he is going to be running against. Trump makes Biden’s weaknesses less blatant and Biden is a clear contrast to the type of president Trump is. If it was Biden competing against any other candidate, then I wouldn’t bet on Biden. But with Trump anything is possible (both for Trump and against Trump).
@Benedict XVI: Don’t believe those polls and don’t be taking it too serious. You are most likely going to be disappointed when the results come in.
@SFAnkleTapper: Even though it hurts me to say this,i agree with you in saying that Biden has a much better chance than Bernie.Where I won’t agree with you is dissing the polls that Benedict put up,Trump is not up against Hillary this time.Also,he’ll struggle in the Rust Belt..
@Corporate capitalism is killing us: brilliant, Trump saying that was to try to further divide a very fractured democrat party not an actual acknowledgement that he could have lost.
@David cotter: Bernie is from Ireland? Or do you watch the West wing too much
I thought Democrats where bad when they selected Hillary Clinton as there presidential candidate 4 years but they’ve really outdone themselves this time round
America always gets the politicians it deserves.
@David Shiels: This is a recurring theme for you, am I right? For the record, I like Joe Biden. I would have preferred Bernie.
@David Shiels: Like us? Haughy, Cowan, Ahern, Adams etc.
@Kevin O’ Brienhttps://youtu.be/-rUvUxynOgk
@Macus Mc Mahon: ok
Sanders making a habit of giving up. His voters must be p*ssed off at this.
The only way Biden will win is if he has a decent vice president nomination or if the trump brigade give up on their chosen one. Biden has completely lost the left and continues to put his foot in it further.
@Gerald OBrien the left have lost themselves
have your say