Police prefect Laurent Nuñez announced on Thursday, October 26, that he would ban the demonstration planned for Saturday in Paris at the call of several organizations “in support of the Palestinian people.” “It’s not a static demonstration, it’s a stroll through Paris, always much more risky,” argued Laurent Nuñez on Franceinfo.
“And the organizations which submitted this declaration, through the comments they made, could suggest that they were still in support of Hamas, and therefore I will ban this demonstration,” he announced . The Urgence Palestine collective, made up of several associations, unions and political organizations, called for “a major demonstration of support for the Palestinian people”, Saturday at 2:30 p.m. “departing 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 the prefects alone to assess whether there was a local risk of disturbances to public order.
” Case by case “
“It is not a question of maintaining order (…), the criterion is rather immaterial,” argued Laurent Nuñez. “The disturbance of public order can be immaterial. The mere fact that we can make Holocaust denial, anti-Semitic or support for terrorism comments is a problem for us, that’s what justifies these bans,” he declared, citing organizations like the Front Popular Movement for the Liberation of Palestine in France and the NPA (New Anti-Capitalist Party).
Last Thursday, a pro-Palestinian rally was able to take place at Place de la République in Paris; 15,000 people gathered, according to the police headquarters, which made ten arrests, in particular for anti-Semitic remarks and tags on the statue of the Republic.
“I [had] not banned it because in the declaration there was a clear condemnation [of] the actions [of Hamas],” said Mr. Nuñez, who assured to examine “case by case” the declarations of demonstration.
According to the police prefect, 189 anti-Semitic acts have been recorded in Paris since October 7, giving rise to 73 arrests, 50 police custody and the placement in administrative detention of twenty-five illegal foreigners.