He also accused the Times report of drawing its conclusions based on interviews that did not reflect reporting that was broad but rather done in the context of an event being discussed in French media at the time: a “summer camp” that was “forbidden to people with white skin,” where those who attended opposed the mixing of whites and nonwhites, Mr. Valls wrote.

He was referring to a gathering near the French city of Reims that the organizers described as a “De-Colonial Summer Camp,” where minorities could gather to talk about their experiences of discrimination. According to the organizers, about 170 to 180 people attended between Aug. 25 and 28.

The Times responded that Mr. Valls was mistaken about how the reporting for the piece had been done.

“Our story was rigorously reported and based on responses by more than 1,200 readers to an online call-out in English, French and Arabic asking for the views of Muslim women in Europe after the burkini ban,” said Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for The Times. “We stand by the article.”