They intend to challenge a prohibition order that they judge “Unfair and abusive”. The organizers of the demonstration in support of the Palestinian people, scheduled for Saturday in Paris, filed on Friday, May 14, an appeal for interim relief with the administrative court. They will thus try to obtain the annulment of its ban, decided Thursday evening by the Paris police prefect.
The decision of the administrative court should be known Friday afternoon, said Sefen Guez Guez, Dominique Cochain and Ouadie Elhamamouchi, lawyers for the Association of Palestinians in Ile-de-France.
The protest was originally planned to commemorate the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic), the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians upon the creation of Israel in 1948. Before the outbreak of violence in Israel and the Strip Gaza in recent days does not paint the prospect of a major rally. The organizers intended in particular to denounce the position of France, considered too favorable to Israel, and ask it to “To condemn more firmly the bombings which kill civilians in Gaza”, according to Walid Atallah, one of the leaders of the association.
A precedent in 2014
“France is the only democracy to ban such a demonstration! “, underlines Mr. Guez Guez, denouncing an attack on freedom of expression “Totally disproportionate”. He also laments the character ” Politics “ of this decision “Taken at the request of the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin” – affirmation confirmed by the interested party on Twitter.
To justify his prohibition order, the Paris police prefect, Didier Lallement, affirmed that there was “A serious risk” of “Serious disturbances to public order”, as well as“Abuses against synagogues and Israeli interests”. And put forward, like Mr. Darmanin, the precedent of 2014, when a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Paris had degenerated into clashes. “Since 2014, there have been plenty of demonstrations in defense of the Palestinian cause which have taken place without any problem”, replies Mr. Guez Guez.
Mr. Darmanin asked the prefects on Thursday to closely follow the gatherings planned in other cities in France, not to hesitate to ban them if necessary and to ensure the protection of places frequented by the Jewish community.
Lively political debate
The case sparks a heated debate in the political class between those who support the government’s demand – in the majority, on the right and on the far right – and those who denounce a ban “Unacceptable”, led by La France insoumise (LFI).
Former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who has lent his support to Israel this week, hailed a “Serious but justified decision”, considering that“A part of the left or the extreme left is using this conflict as a pretext to justify anti-Semitism”. The deputy La République en Marche (LRM) of Paris Sylvain Maillard estimated the ban ” tough “, “Serious”, “But necessary to preserve public order”.
The ban was also approved by the Republicans (LR) and the National Rally (RN). “It is out of the question to import into our soil” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, LR number two Guillaume Peltier told BFM-TV on Friday. “It is better that there are no demonstrations”, in particular to avoid “Anti-Semitic provocations”, said on CNews the spokesperson of the RN, Sébastien Chenu.
“Mr. Darmanin raises the risk of violence, it is a provocation on his part”, estimated for his part on France 2 the deputy LFI of Seine-Saint-Denis Eric Coquerel, adding: “It’s a geopolitical conflict. The problem is a colonized people who have their capital occupied against all UN resolutions. “
Among the only dissonant voices on the left is the mayor of Paris, the socialist Anne Hidalgo. Asked about Jewish community radio station Radio J on Friday morning, she said the ban was a “Wise decision”, specifying: “In 2014, we experienced an extremely violent, very difficult demonstration. The situation is very, very tense. “
Friday morning, since the start of the clashes between Hamas and Israel, there were nearly 120 dead among the inhabitants of Gaza, a Palestinian enclave under Israeli blockade controlled by Hamas, and eight on the Israeli side.