The coordinator of France Insoumise Manuel Bompard does not want France to be the only country and Paris the only capital “in which we could not demonstrate our support for the Palestinian people”. But it is neither the only country nor the only capital.
Manuel Bompard denounced the bans “unacceptable” of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in France, during the broadcast Political issues from France Inter, Le Monde and franceinfo Sunday October 29. “Everywhere in Europe, apart from France – and in Germany I believe – there are massive demonstrations. There are some in the United States, there are some in Great Britain, there are some in Israel, everywhere the people have the opportunity to express their attachment to peace”assures the coordinator of France Insoumise.
Before continuing : “And France would be the only place, Paris would be the only world capital in which we could not show our support for the Palestinian people who are victims of bombing?”, regrets the deputy for the 4th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône. Is France really the only country and Paris the only capital? This is rather false for two reasons.
Several countries and capitals have banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations
First, France is not the only country – and Paris not the only capital – to ban demonstrations in support of Palestinians facing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas terrorist attack from October 7.
Manuel Bompard was hesitant about Germany during his interview, yet there have been bans across the Rhine, including at least seven in Berlin. Other gatherings were also banned in Vienna in Austria, Budapest in Hungary and Bern in Switzerland, as recorded by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, in a non-exhaustive manner.
On the other hand, it is true that these bans are quite rare in the world. Demonstrations were authorized in London, Madrid, Rome and even New York.
Demonstrations prohibited in Paris but authorized elsewhere
The second reason is that we cannot really generalize across countries. In France, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin had asked prefectures to ban all pro-Palestinian demonstrations, but this was rejected by the Council of State which recommended treatment on a case-by-case basis.
If at least sixty demonstrations were banned in the two weeks following the Hamas attack and if they continued afterwards, others were authorized. For example, Saturday October 28, the Parisian demonstration was prohibited, but others authorized in Marseille, Strasbourg, Rennes, Lille and even Périgueux. And that’s without counting the times when administrative courts have overturned bans on demonstrations, such as for the Paris gathering of October 19 or Saturday October 28 in Nice and Montpellier.
We find the same trend in Switzerland where, around ten days ago, a gathering was authorized in Lausanne, despite the bans in Bern, Basel and Zurich. Since then, other gatherings have been authorized in Bern and Zurich.
Security reasons invoked and the weight of History
In countries where bans take place – which does not prevent citizens from gathering all the same – the justifications given are the same as in France. The authorities cite security concerns, risks of disturbances to public order and, sometimes, also suspicions of a possible desire to support Hamas and not the Palestinians.
In Germany, several commentators, favorable or opposed to the bans, underline the importance of the weight of History in the decisions of the authorities. According to their interpretation, the Germans do not want, or even cannot, to appear to condone anti-Semitism, 90 years after the start of the Holocaust. Berlin has even banned the wearing of the keffiyeh in schools, this white and black checkered scarf worn around the neck and head, a symbol of Palestinian nationalism.