French restaurant bars veiled women because 'Muslims are terrorists'

French police have opened an inquiry into a chef who threw two veiled Muslim women out of his restaurant, telling them "all Muslims are terrorists". As France's burkini row rumbles on, the man has apologised but anti-racist campaigners and France's family minister insist he should be prosecuted.

French Family and Women's Rights Minister Laurence Rossignol AFP/Alain Jocard

Families and Women's Rights Minister Laurence Rossignol announced on Twitter on Sunday that she had told the government's anti-racism watchdog, Dilcra, to look into the "intolerable behaviour" of Jean-Baptiste Devreux, the owner of Le Cénacle restaurant at Tremblay-en-France, near Paris.

Police visited the establishment on Sunday evening after having been alerted by the young women.

There was a storm on social media and the head of the CFCM coalition of Muslim groups, Anouar Kbibech, tweeted his "indignation" after they posted a video online.

'All Muslims are terrorists'

It starts with one of the woman saying, "We don't want to be served by racists, Monsieur!" and Devreux replying "Racists don't pose bombs and don't kill people, racists like me!" and going on to tell them "Madame, the terrorists are Muslim and all Muslims are terrorists ... People like you I don't want ... Now you know it, so leave!"

Tremblay's Communist mayor, François Asensi, condemned the "hateful and stigmatising phrases recorded in [the] video" and said he would lodge a legal complaint on Monday.

Apology issued

With calls to boycott the restaurant circulating, Devreux apologised to a group of protesters outside his restaurant on Sunday afternoon, saying that he had "gone off the rails" and adding that a friend of his had been killed during November's attack on the Bataclan concert hall.

He later apologised to "all the Muslim community" and to the two customers.

While calling his statements "despicable", the interim president of the right-wing Republicans party, Laurent Wauquiez, said it was "to his credit" that he had apologised.