Tensions on the island are running high following violent clashes between villagers and three Muslim families, The Guardian reports.

Clashes at the weekend at a beach in the commune of Sisco saw four people injured and riot police brought in to stop a crowd of 200 Corsicans marching into a housing estate with a high population of people of North African origin.

Socialist mayor Ange-Pierre Vivoni said burkinis – swimsuits that cover the majority of the body – would be banned in the area from this week, although there has been no confirmation as to whether anyone on the beach was wearing a burkini at the time of the incident.

He is the first leftwing mayor to ban burkinis, describing the measure as necessary to “protect the population”, according to The Guardian.

A burkini ban in Cannes was backed by a court on Saturday after two local Muslim associations took emergency legal action to have it repealed.

The associations and a human rights group will challenge the ban.