French PM backs ban of burkini amid rising tension

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Wednesday defended several mayors banning the full body-covering Muslim burkini swimwear, calling for calm after tensions rose between communities mainly in the French island of Corsica.

"I understand the mayors who, at a moment of tension, have the reflex to look for solutions to avoid disturbances to public order," Valls told regional newspaper La Provence.

"The beaches, like any public space, must be protected from religious claims. The burkini is not a new range of swimwear fashion. It is the expression of a political project hostile to society and founded notably on women's oppression," he added.

Since last weekend, six coastal towns including Cannes, Villeneuve-Loubet, Sisco on the island of Corsica, Le Touquet, Leucate and L'Oye-Plage imposed a ban on the burkini which leaves only the face, hands and feet uncovered.

Valls backed the ban on burkinis saying he encouraged people "to live together and not with ulterior political motives."

The municipalities' decision came after a brawl broke out last Saturday between Muslim families and a group of young Corsicans in Sisco after a tourist took pictures of women bathing in a burkini.

Five people were injured and two others taken into custody, according to media reports.

Amid growing tensions, Valls called for calm, saying "it is not for people to take justice by themselves."

He also added that "regulations on prescribing clothes cannot be a solution."

The burkini ban is a sensitive debate after a recent attack claimed by Daesh left 84 victims in Nice city on July 14. Few days later, two teenagers slaughtered an elderly priest in northern France.

On Tuesday, the National Observatory of Islamophobia in France, filed a complaint against the bans with France's highest administrative court "to defend the victims of this clear violation of fundamental freedoms."

France, home to Europe's largest Islamic community at 5 million Muslims, bans Muslim headscarves and other religious symbols from schools. Endit