Top French court makes initial ruling to suspend burkini ban

A Muslim woman wears a burkini, a swimsuit that leaves only the face, hands and feet exposed, on a beach in Marseille, France

Marseille: Under the French legal system, temporary decisions can be handed down before the court takes more time to prepare a judgment on the underlying legality of the case.

The ban, which spread to more than a dozen coastal towns, had exposed cracks within the Socialist government's unity as Prime Minister Manuel Valls defended it on Thursday while some ministers criticized it.