The mayor of Cannes has introduced a ban on burkinis to “ensure security”, the French authorities confirmed.

The local mayor, David Lisnard, introduced the ban at the French Riviera resort to prohibit “beachwear ostentatiously showing a religious affiliation while France and places of religious significance are the target of terror attacks”.

The ruling says: “Access to beaches and for swimming is banned to anyone who does not have (swim wear) which respects good customs and secularism.”