Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday he would impose a nationwide ban on burkinis if elected back to the presidency in 2017, positioning himself as a strong defender of French values and tough on immigration, Daily Mail reports.
"I want to be the president who guarantees the safety of France and of every French person. I refuse to let the burkini impose itself in French beaches and swimming pools ... there must be a law to ban it throughout the Republic's territory," Sarkozi said.