Sílvia Orriols bans the use of the burkini in Ripoll's municipal pool

The mayor of Ripoll and leader of Aliança Catalana, Sílvia Orriols, has signed a municipal order that bans "for security reasons" full-body swimsuits at the town's public pool. In other words, burkinis. "I recommend that the rest of Catalan city councils do the same. This has already gone too far," the mayor wrote on her X profile.

The ban clashes with Law 19/2020 on equal treatment and non-discrimination, in force since 2021. This law requires municipalities to allow both "topless" and burkinis as long as the garment is made of fabric suitable for aquatic use. The Department of Equality reminded all city councils by letter, before the summer of 2023, that banning these garments may constitute discrimination punishable by fines of up to €500,000.

Parliamentary background

Orriols already tried to extend the ban to all of Catalonia, or at least to put the debate on the table. In May, she submitted a motion in Parliament to include the burkini, hijab, and niqab among the "distinctive and discriminatory" elements that should be banned in all public spaces. The proposal was rejected with votes against from PSC, Junts, ERC, Comuns, and CUP; Vox and PP abstained.

Now, the Directorate General for Equality will study Ripoll's edict ex officio and reminds that the regional law prevails over any municipal ordinance. Generalitat may require the withdrawal of the regulation and, if the city council refuses, impose administrative sanctions. In addition, civil rights organizations plan to appeal to the Contentious-Administrative Court for "violation of religious freedom."

The key lies in the municipal elections

Since she won the mayoralty in 2023, Orriols has placed immigration and her declared Islamophobia at the center of her agenda. Among other initiatives, the burkini ban reinforces Aliança Catalana's identity profile. This comes at a time when polls show her on the rise, with up to eleven potential seats in Parliament.

Meanwhile, this ideological pressure from the municipal side puts Junts in a bind, which for now is keeping pace with AC. In fact, Puigdemont and his team have as a strategic priority to regain influence in towns and municipalities. However, for the moment this hasn't translated into a clear hardening of the discourse, but rather into a balancing act that hasn't quite taken off yet.