Four police officers walked up to the middle aged woman, who had been quietly sunbathing on the Promenade des Anglais Beach, and made her remove a modesty garment on the spot.

It was gathered that she was given a warning about how to dress on the beach and given a fine.

Few Hours earlier three armed cops pointed a pepper spray canister in the face of a 34-year-old mum in Cannes and told her she was breaking a new rule which prohibited swimming costumes that cover the entire body.

The Muslim mother of two was Identified only as Siam, she is a former air-hostess from Toulouse whose family members have been French citizens for at least three generations.

She insisted that the “racist” officers simply wanted to humiliate her in front of her children and other family members, even though she was not even wearing proper swimming trunks.

Siam, who was wearing leggings, a top, and a headscarf at the time, said: “I wasn’t even planning to swim, just to dip my feet.”

All of the items of clothing made Siam feel comfortable, and meant she was not exposed to the afternoon sun.

What she was not fully aware of, however, was that Cannes was one of a small number of towns that have banned the Burkini for its alleged links to terrorism.