Five Muslim girls arrested for 'attacking' bikini-clad French woman

Suspects, aged 16 to 24, reportedly attacked a woman for wearing a bikini in a park in France

Five Muslim girls were arrested in France after they reportedly 'attacked' a French woman for wearing a bikini in a park.

Angelique Sloss, a 21-year-old woman, was sunbathing wearing a bikini at a park in northern France when she was approached by five females, one of whom verbally abused the victim for ‘immorally’ exposing too much flesh in a public place. When the victim yelled back, the women reportedly slapped and punched her.

Witnesses managed to intervene and stop the assault before the victim was seriously hurt, but she suffered bruises in the incident, the French police said.

Read: French police warns tourists against wearing burkas to The Alps

The five attackers, aged 16 to 24, were arrested soon after and the three oldest have been remanded to appear in court in September. The authorities have not named the suspects but said that they all came from housing estates with large Muslim populations.

Following the attack, protesters wearing bikinis and swimsuits held a rally at the park where the incident took place as hundreds across France joined the campaign on Twitter, posting photos of themselves wearing swimsuits in public places.

Read: Saudi king's French Riviera holiday provokes beach protest

Regarding the incident, the Mayor of Reims, Arnaud Robinet, said, "We have to be very careful not to jump to conclusions. All the same, I can understand why people have assumed that this attack had religious motives. If that turns out to be the case, it is a very serious incident."

Earlier, French police handed out notices to tourists visiting the Alps in a bid to remind them that face covering veils are banned in the country.

This article originally appeared on The Independent.