The President of the Republic spoke Thursday during an exchange in the middle of the street in Paris. The Council of State left control to the prefects on this subject on Wednesday, considering that the government could not order a systematic ban.
While a new pro-Palestinian demonstration is planned for the evening of Thursday October 19, Place de la République in Paris, despite the ban from the police headquarters, Emmanuel Macron justified these gathering bans. “I think there was a period of decency, there was a terrorist attack, it was not good”, declared the Head of State during an exchange with BTS students from Gagny (Seine-Saint-Denis), in the streets of the capital, which an AFP journalist witnessed. A moment also captured by the media Brut.
RAW DOCUMENT — Arrested in the street, Emmanuel Macron explains to young people why he banned demonstrations in support of Palestine. pic.twitter.com/HkU2TBsco4
— Brut FR (@brutofficiel) October 19, 2023
“I see people who want to demonstrate peacefully but, inside, there are hyper-radical elements who will go and burn the flags of Israel, defend Hamas”developed the head of state. “In all the capitals where there are demonstrations, there are very harsh elements who arrive and do the worst things”added Emmanuel Macron during his exchange. “Do we want to see that now? I think we want to get together instead”he continued.
The Council of State decided on a “case by case” basis.
On October 12, five days after the bloody attack perpetrated in Israel by Hamas, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, instructed the prefects to ban the “pro-Palestinian demonstrations, because they are likely to generate disturbances to public order”.
Although it rejected an appeal against the ban on these demonstrations on Wednesday, the Council of State also rejected the telegram from the Minister of the Interior, arguing that pro-Palestinian demonstrations could not be systematically banned and that it was up to the only prefects to appreciate, “case by case”if there was a local risk of disturbances to public order.