A court on Friday suspended the ban on Islamic burkini swimming costumes imposed by a French Riviera town in a ruling likely to set a precedent to be followed in France’s other beaches.

France’s Council of State, the country’s top administrative court, lifted the ban in the Cote d’Azur town of Villeneuve-Loubet.

The ruling was expected to be adopted by 30 other municipalities that have also implemented the beachwear decree.

The court found the ban was contrary to the principles of a secular state and “seriously and clearly illegally breached fundamental freedoms.”

Human Rights League lawyer, Patrice Spinosi, said the hope was now that the ruling would mark the end of an essentially political controversy.

The Council deemed that personal freedoms should not be restricted unless they were considered to be a threat to the public.

Anything considered a threat could provide a possible loophole for the localized continuation of the ban, however.

A Corsican mayor, Ange-Pierre Vivoni, has already announced that the local burkini ban would continue in his northern village of Sisco.

The town made headlines earlier this month following violent altercations between local villagers and Muslim families of North African-origin on a beach.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy who said he is to run again in the 2017 general elections, on Friday called for a state-wide ban on burkinis.

On Wednesday, photographs that showed armed French police officers looking on as a woman removed part of her burkini-like clothing on a beach in Nice, southern France, were widely shared on social media and sparked fresh public debate on the issue.

Paris, Aug 26 (EFE)