Burkini ban: Corsica mayor prohibits Islamic swimsuit after beach brawl on French island

Socialist Mayor of Sisco Ange-Pierre Vivoni said he aimed to "protect the population" after clashes in a cove outside his village in the north of the Mediterranean island that left five people injured.

About 100 police were deployed to break up the fight between locals and families of North African origin that reportedly began after tourists took 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.

The announcement followed similar prohibitions in the Riviera towns of Cannes and Villeneuve-Loubet that have also controversially banned the garment from beaches in recent weeks.

Mr Vivoni said 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," he said.

"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."

Prosecutors in nearby Bastia said an inquiry had been opened to determine the cause of the weekend violence.

Mr Vivoni said tensions over religion had been building in northern Corsica for a while.

Burkini is 'archaic': Women's Rights Minister

The question of Islamic dress has long been a hot-button issue in France, which was the first European country to ban the full-face veil in public places in 2010.

Opponents of the burkini argue it tramples secular values. Anti-racism campaigners say banning it amounts to discrimination against Muslims.

Women's Rights Minister Laurence Rossignol said the burkini, which has also been a talking point at the Rio Olympics where it has been sported by several athletes, was "profoundly archaic".

"The burkini has a goal. The goal is to hide women's bodies to hide women … there is something profoundly archaic about it," she told Europe 1 radio.

But she also warned against the "ulterior motives" of some in the conservative opposition, whom she accused of stoking debates about burkinis and halal meat to try win votes from the far-right National Front.

Ms Rossignol did not say where she stood on banning the garment.

France is on high alert after two grisly attacks in the last month claimed by, or carried out in the name of Islamic State, which was also behind November's coordinated assaults in Paris.

On July 14, a Tunisian father of three ploughed a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, killing 85 people.

Two weeks later, two teens claiming allegiance to IS killed a priest by slitting his throat.

The burkini ban in Cannes won court backing on Saturday, with a judge ruling the garment could be seen as a provocation after the Nice attack.

In the nearby resort of Villeneuve-Loubet, Mayor Lionnel Luca has justified the ban by saying it is unhygienic to swim fully dressed.