The information made the opposition jump, in the first place Alain Carignon (civil society, various right and center). Several women were allowed to swim at the Jean-Bron swimming pool in Grenoble (Isère), this Thursday, July 28, with a swimsuit covering their arms and legs. Mayor Éric Piolle “defies the law, tramples the decision of the Council of State and demonstrates that he will do everything to allow Islamism to appear in public service”, writes the former mayor of Grenoble in a communicated.
According to a user present on site, “the staff of the municipal swimming pool retained the group of bathers at the exit of the changing rooms, the time to telephone the town hall to ensure the conformity of their bathing attire”. The municipal police would have been present during this moment of hesitation.
Access to the pool refused to two of the bathers for improper dress
There were six women from Grenoble, most of them members of the Union of Muslim Women, but also a man, a permanent member of the Citizens’ Alliance (from which this union originated) who campaigns for the authorization to wear a burkini, a bathing suit covering designed as an extension of the Islamic veil. The association denies having carried out an action. A call was launched internally, but without inviting the media, as in June 2019.
Of the six women, two did not have regulation clothing. Access to the open-air pool was smoothly denied them. The others were able to enjoy the swimming pool freely. Three were dressed in a covering swimsuit, fitted close to the body and designed for swimming, another in a monokini.
The municipality ensures that it has applied article 10 of the internal regulations of its swimming pools, voted with a bang on May 16, while taking into account the case law of the Council of State of June 21 (confirming the ban on the burkini ). This article does not mention a prohibition on the length of swimsuits.
For former LREM MP Émilie Chalas, it is “a victory for radical proselytism. Éric Piolle and Alliance Citoyenne play on words”.