The prefect of police has banned the planned demonstration on Saturday. Credit: XOSE BOUZAS / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP
A “too risky” demonstration. The prefect of police, Laurent Nuñez, announced on Thursday, October 26, that he would ban the demonstration scheduled for this Saturday in Paris at the request of several organizations “in support of the Palestinian people”. While a rally had gathered 15,000 people in Place de la République a few days earlier, Laurent Nuñez believes that, in this particular case, the demonstration poses too great a risk.
“This is not a static demonstration, it is a procession through Paris, which is always much more risky,” he argued on France Info. But that is not his only argument. He explained: “The organizations that filed this declaration, through the statements they made, could lead to the belief that they were still supporting Hamas, and therefore I will ban this demonstration.”
Immaterial disorder to public order
The Urgence Palestine collective, bringing together several associations, trade unions and political organizations, called for a “large demonstration in support of the Palestinian people” on Saturday at 2:30 pm, “starting from Châtelet”, according to its website. On October 18, the Council of State reminded the government that pro-Palestinian demonstrations could not be systematically banned and that it was up to prefects alone to assess whether there was a local risk of disturbances to public order.
READ ALSO Israel-Hamas War: The Palestinian Obsession of French Campuses
“This is not a […] Read more.
