France bans pro-Palestinian protests after Israel declares war on Gaza

AFP , Thursday 12 Oct 2023

France on Thursday said it was banning all pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the grounds such protests threaten public order. This comes amid the ongoing Israeli siege on Gaza, which has cut water, food and electricity from Palestinians residing in the impoverished Palestinian enclave.

France pro-Palestine protests
Protestors wave Palestinian flags during an unauthorized demonstration in support of Palestinians at Place de la Republique in Paris, on October 12, 2023. AFP

 

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a note to regional prefects that the demonstrations "are likely to generate disturbances to public order", adding that organisers should face arrest as well as any troublemakers.

In defiance of his order, several hundred people had gathered in the central Place de la Republique in Paris, AFP correspondents reported.

The protestors chanted pro-Palestine slogans expressing solidarity with Gaza Palestinians amid unprecedented bombardment from the Israeli side.

So far, twenty-four people have been arrested in such protests while two pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Paris had been banned Thursday for fear of outbursts, Reuters reported.

Darmanin, who framed the pro-Palestine protests as a threat, reiterated his request that foreigners guilty of so-called "anti-Semitic acts" should have their residence permit "systematically withdrawn" and expelled "without delay" from France.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online

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