Meet the Algerian businessman who promises to pay women's burkini fines
On the beaches of Nice, in southern France, armed police are on the lookout for women who wear too much clothing.
Earlier this week, officers issued a fine to at least one woman who was forced to remove a long-sleeved tunic that covered her head and upper body. It's because of a controversial ban enacted by some French municipalities on the full-body swimsuit known as the burkini.
And while some women have already endured humiliation at the beach, they may not have to pay the fines for violating the ban. That's because a French-born Algerian businessman, Rachid Nekkaz, has vowed to cover the cost of the tickets.
Nekkaz has already helped cover the costs for women who have been fined for wearing the niqab in public. To date, that amount has totalled €245,000 ($355,000 Cdn) with attorneys' fees.
As It Happens guest host Laura Lynch reached Rachid Nekkaz in Algiers.
Laura Lynch: Mr. Nekkaz, what did you think when you saw the latest pictures of police ordering women on the beach to take off some of their clothes?
Rachid Nekkaz: When I saw these terrible pictures, I felt that France is no longer a democracy, it's a dictatorship. It's terrible for the image of France and for this country that is known all over the world as the country of liberty.
LL: According to the ticket issued to one woman, she was fined for not wearing "an outfit respecting good morals and secularism," did you ever think you would see this on French beaches?
RN: France was a big democracy, which respected everyone. For a few years, President Sarkozy and now (President) Hollande, we can see that there is a big problem between France and the Muslim community. I think the dream of these French politicians is to forbid Islam in the constitution.
LL: Just to be clear about this, this is not the national government that have instituted these rules, these are local municipalities that are instituting this.
RN: No. The Prime Minister, Mr. Manuel Valls, has supported, totally, these 26 French mayors, in their bid to vote these bans. That is a big problem because they have the support of the Prime Minister! That's why the world and the Canadian people have to understand, that it's not only the problem of 26 cities in France, it's a political problem because the prime minister of France has supported this law.
LL: The authorities in Nice say the burkini is a form of oppression for muslim women and it overtly manifests its adherence to religion, and you know, France is very strict in these issues of religion in secular life, so how do you see it?
RN: Do you know the women who are wearing a niqab or burkini are totally free? We are not in Afghanistan. Most of them have French parents. We have to understand the problem is not secularism, the problem is a political problem. I have to say that, personally, I am against niqab and the burkini, but I cannot accept that the French politicians used this fear of Islam to reduce the number of rights of the Muslim community.
LL: Why don't you agree with the niqab or the burkini?
RN: I don't approve of the niqab or the burkini because I don't think it is the best way to be integrated into the European society. But I will defend the rights of these women to wear what they want because the niqab or burkini does not represent a problem for the security of the land or the liberty of the people. That's why I will always defend the principle of respect of individual liberties in the streets.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To learn more, listen to our full interview with Rachid Nekkaz.