Nice's administrative court suspended Mandelieu-la-Napoule's burkini ban on August 6, after the Ligue des Droits de l'Homme filed an emergency challenge against the order the commune first issued on July 1, covering the beaches through August 31.
In its ruling, the court found the commune had failed to demonstrate any recent risk to public order, noting that the incidents Mandelieu-la-Napoule cited in support of the ban dated back fourteen and ten years respectively, alongside a general reference to national tensions. The judges concluded the order represented a serious and clearly illegal breach of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religious expression, freedom of movement, and the freedom to dress as one chooses in public spaces, given the absence of any established, current threat to public order.
Mayor Sébastien Leroy, of the Nouvelle Énergie party, responded with a statement calling the ruling evidence of a disconnect between the law as written and the realities elected officials face on the ground, while pointing to what he called the Ligue's consistent advocacy on the issue. The commune has renewed similar bans annually since 2012, each repeatedly overturned or suspended by the courts on similar grounds.