Muslim mother 'subjected to humiliating racist abuse for wearing hijab on French beach'

'Racially abused': A woman was reportedly abused by crowds after being order to remove her hijab by police
Twitter/Feiza Ben Mohamed
Fiona Simpson24 August 2016

A mother has told how she was racially abused by a crowd of locals in France after being ordered by police to remove her hijab or face a fine.

The 34-year-old former air hostess, named only as Siam, was approached by three officers while at La Bocca beach in Cannes with her young children.

They demanded she remove her floral-patterned headscarf.

Siam described how police read her the details of the headscarf ban on beaches, stating beachgoers must wear “correct clothing, respect secularism, hygiene rules and security” and arguing that her hijab was an “ostentatious” sign of religion.

She agreed to pay the €11 fine but was then reduced to tears when a crowd surrounded her, shouting “go home” and “we’re Catholics”, witnesses claimed.

She told French magazine L’Obs that she was “stunned that racist terms were used freely”.

“My children were crying, witnessing the humiliation of me and my family. Even I could not help crying. They humiliated us,” she said.

Mathilde Cusin, a journalist for France 4, said the crowd were like a “pack of hounds” attacking the woman.

Ms Cusin said: “People asked her to leave or remove her veil, it was pretty violent.

"What shocked me is that it was mostly people in their thirties, not the elderly as one might imagine.”

Mayor of Cannes David Lisnard said he supported the actions of the police officer and argued that they were right to fine anyone wearing a religious garment.

He said the officers had “no reason to doubt their judgement”.

In a statement, the mayor said he did not wish any Muslims to feel unwelcome on the beach and said people of all faiths should be allowed their rights.

Siam confirmed she had contested the Collectif Contre L’Islamophobie, an organisation which protects the rights of Muslim citizens.

“In a country meant to be famed for its human rights, I haven’t seen any evidence of the principles of liberté, égalité or fraternité”, she added.

In Nice, armed French police forced a woman to remove a 'burkini' on a beach.

The full-body swimsuit has controversially been banned in several holiday hotspots across the country.

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