Tourist hotspot in crackdown on ‘indecent' clothing item that ‘disturbs the population'
Chetaïbi, a town of 8,000 residents, thrives on seasonal tourism, drawing thousands to its turquoise waters, rocky coves, and forested hills each summer.
This economic reliance has historically fostered a welcoming atmosphere.
'The mood is warm, welcoming, colorful, bustling – no hostility toward bathers, not in words, not in looks,' Salah Edine Bey, a long-time resident, said.
'People here have a tradition of hospitality.'
But a shift came earlier in July when the town's mayor issued a decree, catching vacationers and local businesses off guard.
The order banned beachgoers from wearing Bermuda shorts, deeming the attire "indecent" in contrast to the longer, looser styles favoured by more conservative male beachgoers.
'These summer outfits disturb the population, they go against our society's moral values and sense of decency,' Mayor Layachi Allaoua wrote.
'The population can no longer tolerate seeing foreigners wandering the streets in indecent clothing."
The order sparked immediate backlash from officials, including in the regional capital Annaba, who called on the mayor to revoke it.
The mayor reversed the decree within two days. On Facebook, he insisted his order was not driven by Islamist pressure, but by a desire to preserve 'peace and tranquility' for both residents and guests.
Still, the episode tapped into deeper tensions over religion, identity, and public space in a country that remains haunted by a civil war that killed an estimated 200,000 people throughout the 1990s. The conflict began in 1991, when the army canceled elections that an Islamist party was set to win.
The so-called 'black decade' ended long ago. But it left unresolved some underlying friction between political Islam and Algeria's military-backed secular state.
'Even though Islamists lost the war in the 1990s, they never gave up on their invasive and intrusive ideological project, which has gained ground in society,' sociologist Redouane Boudjemaâ said.
For some, the beach debate echoed that earlier era, when Islamist-run municipalities tried to reshape public life in line with religious doctrine.
For many Algerians, particularly in underserved regions, political Islam remains popular not out of extremism, but as a reaction to corruption, inequality, and distrust in state institutions. While Islamist parties have mostly fared poorly at the ballot box, they play a large role in daily life, filling social and moral voids.
In neighboring Jijel, residents have roped off parts of the beach for mass prayers, with videos of the scenes circulating online and dividing opinion.
For Halim Kabir, it is a stark reminder of the past. In the 1990s, Islamists who won local elections in Jijel imposed stricter rules on public behavior. Today, cars parked near the beach have been vandalised, with warnings telling beachgoers to 'go sin elsewhere'.
'It's provocation,' Kabir said. 'An attempt to drive away visitors from other regions.'
Said Boukhlifa, a former senior official at the Ministry of Tourism, warned that conservative groups are exploiting Algeria's economic troubles, as falling gas revenues strain the state, to expand their influence.
That, he said, could undermine the country's ambitions to grow its tourism sector.
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Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Drunken Dem mayor seen intoxicated in jaw-dropping bodycam makes shock move amid calls for resignation
Months after a shocking bodycam video showed her stumbling, slurring, and confessing to drinking vodka before driving her toddler home from daycare, New Jersey Democratic Mayor Gina LaPlaca is back in office, claiming she's sober. Despite being charged with driving while intoxicated and second-degree child endangerment, LaPlaca, made a stunning return to the Lumberton Township Committee declaring, 'Today marks my 59th day of sobriety,' in a message shared publicly at the May 15 meeting. 'I was discharged after successfully completing 54 days of inpatient treatment. I am now undergoing intensive outpatient treatment three hours a day, five days a week,' the 46-year-old said. Her comeback has left many in the South Jersey town reeling, especially after viral footage captured the mayor's March 17 arrest. In a chaotic scene outside her $640,000 home officers confronted her after a 911 caller reported her BMW 5-Series swerving across the road nearly striking a utility pole all while her two-year-old son was in the back seat. LaPlaca, visibly intoxicated, staggered into the street and admitted to officers she'd been drinking 'a little bit of vodka'. She failed multiple sobriety tests and police found open containers of alcohol in her vehicle. 'I'm sorry,' LaPlaca said tearfully as she was handcuffed. An officer gently responded, 'That's okay.' Months after a shocking bodycam video showed her stumbling, slurring, and confessing to drinking vodka before driving her toddler home from daycare, Democratic Mayor Gina LaPlaca is back in office, claiming she's sober Despite being charged with driving while intoxicated and second-degree child endangerment, LaPlaca has made a stunning return to the Lumberton Township to resume her role as mayor After being censured by her own committee and being urged to resign by both New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and her fellow committee members, LaPlaca has refused to step down and instead made a defiant return, leaning on her recovery journey as justification for remaining in office. On Saturday, she doubled down in a social media post praising Interior Secretary turned-New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland for her own public sobriety. 'Kudos to Deb Haaland not only for her 35 years of sobriety, but also for speaking openly about her struggles with alcohol addiction,' LaPlaca wrote on Facebook. 'Shame on anyone who thinks a person in recovery can't continue to serve their community.' But many in Lumberton say the issue isn't recovery but accountability. At township meetings following the arrest, residents lined up to demand LaPlaca's resignation, citing concerns over her judgment. 'She is compromising the position of our law enforcement,' one resident said. 'She needs to resign.' Others called her 'manipulative,' 'narcissistic,' and accused her of bringing 'another black eye to our town.' 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In New Jersey, removing an elected official from office is legally difficult unless they are convicted of a disqualifying crime or recalled by voters. A recall effort is now underway, with organizers needing signatures from at least 25% of registered voters to force a special election. Earlier this year, LaPlaca's husband, former Westampton fire chief Jason Carty, urged the public to back off, arguing that her personal struggles shouldn't define her legacy. 'It's not like she's the mayor of some big city,' Carty said in April. 'Lumberton has only 13,000 people. All I want is for my wife to get better and for everyone to leave her alone.' But the backlash has not calmed down especially after it emerged that LaPlaca had previously been arrested in 2023 for allegedly assaulting Carty, a charge that was later dismissed and expunged. She had also abruptly resigned from her job as Neptune Township's business administrator just a week before the DUI incident. In early March, LaPlaca was slammed after she had an outburst at a town meeting and cursed at one of the attendants. Earlier this year, LaPlaca's husband, former Westampton fire chief Jason Carty, urged the public to back off, arguing that her personal struggles shouldn't define her legacy LaPlaca is of the opinion she can get sober and still be mayor of the town of Lumberton The backlash has not calmed down especially after it emerged that LaPlaca had previously been arrested in 2023 for allegedly assaulting Carty, left, a charge that was later dismissed Footage of the incident shows the slurring mayor being escorted out of the meeting as she called a woman a 'f***ing s***k b****.' 'Why do we condone this behavior and keep electing her?' one Lumberton resident wrote. 'Gina is a narcissist, manipulative and corrupt individual who thrives on power just like her husband.'
Times
16 hours ago
- Times
Can Mary Sheffield help the Democrats out of the wilderness?
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The Sun
20 hours ago
- The Sun
Lionesses' victory showed strong & proud England at its finest… the return of unapologetic patriotism was long overdue
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Nobody ever did more to give generations of children a love of reading that will stay with them for a lifetime.
