New demonstrations across France against the “global security” law
Protesters gathered across France this Saturday against the bill.
Here place de la République in Paris.
REUTERS - BENOIT TESSIER
Text by: RFI Follow
6 min
Thousands of people gathered in several large French cities, this Saturday, November 28, to denounce a law in preparation deemed to be liberticidal, while the country is shaken by a new case of police violence.
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In Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Strasbourg, Marseille, Grenoble, Clermont-Ferrand, or even Caen, multiple gatherings are taking place this Saturday, against this law denounced as attacking freedom of expression and the rule of law .
In some towns, protests started early in the morning.
In Lille, in the north of France, between 1,000 and 1,500 people, headed by mayor Martine Aubry, gathered under the slogan “
Freedom, equality, film!
"
.
In the South, in Montpellier, they were 4 to 5,000, waving placards proclaiming "
More cops than doctors - sense of priorities
" or "
Blurred democracy
".
In Rennes, to the west, Maud, 45, was there to protest against this “
real democratic denial
” and the “
authoritarian drift
”.
In Paris, a dense crowd gathered at 2 p.m. on the Place de la République, to then walk towards the Place de la Bastille.
Many, many people.
Bastille in sight after two hours of walking.
Live #MarcheDesLibertes #StopLoiSecuriteGlobale in Paris.
More than 100 gatherings all over France also https://t.co/qrrzpI35Jz pic.twitter.com/aCgTkD9B0a
- David Dufresne (@davduf) November 28, 2020
A Parisian demonstrator, interviewed by
Pierre Olivier
of RFI, summarizes the reasons for his mobilization: “
We want to blur the faces of the police.
This means that a freelance journalist who is going to film violence will not be able to provide such evidence.
The police are already hooded, their RIO
[identification] number
is not necessarily displayed, they have a mask ... We cannot recognize them.
So if we prevent filming, it's even more serious.
This means that with impunity, they will be able to repress.
Here is the alarm bell: if people do not wake up, there will be no more freedom of expression.
"
Three particularly criticized articles of law
At the heart of the dispute which has spilled over into a political crisis, there are indeed three articles of the proposed law on "
global security
", which has already received a
green light
from the National Assembly last week, framing dissemination of the image of police officers, the use of drones and pedestrian cameras of the police.
"
This bill aims to undermine the freedom of the press, the freedom to inform and be informed, the freedom of expression, in short the fundamental public freedoms of our Republic
", judges the coordination calling at gatherings.
Article 24, which focused attention, punishes one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros for the “
malicious
”
dissemination
of images of police and gendarmes.
The government argues that this provision aims to protect police victims of hate calls and murder on social networks.
Two cases of police violence in one week
But its critics argue that much police violence would have gone unpunished if it had not been captured by journalists 'cameras and citizens' smartphones.
They also point to an unnecessary provision, the current legal arsenal being sufficient to punish such offenses.
Two cases of police violence this week, revealed by videos, have turned a difficult patch for the government into a real crisis.
"We can
see that the government is still embarrassed
, says Eric Coquerel, deputy of rebellious France, at the microphone of RFI.
This is the second rewrite of section 24 that they are announcing.
The law is problematic globally - it is a law of generalized surveillance.
Mr. Macron continues to say that there is no police violence.
While everyone sees it well, everyone sees it.
I believe that
[the fight]
will be lasting
.
"
Monday, November 23, during a media operation by pro-migrant organizations, the police
brutally evacuated
those who had settled in a square in central Paris, also manhandling journalists under the watchful eye of cameras and smartphones.
Beating
But the climax was reached Thursday, November 26, after the publication of CCTV images showing
the beating
of a black man, a music producer, by three police officers.
The press, social networks and some big names in sport have denounced this police violence.
"
Images that make us ashamed
", admitted Friday evening President Emmanuel Macron, who had already asked Thursday for very clear sanctions against the incriminated police officers.
In addition to the withdrawal of articles 21, 22 and 24 of the law, the coordination also calls for the withdrawal of the new “
National law enforcement plan
” which, during demonstrations, obliges journalists to disperse when the forces of the order give the order, thus preventing them from covering the continuation of events, often stormy in recent years.
A
right of censorship
according to a collective of journalists
A collective of journalists denounced in
a text
released this Saturday the will of the police and other institutions to arrogate to themselves a "
right of censorship
", in defiance of the freedom to inform, through more filming conventions. more restrictive.
Journalists from several media also participated in the Paris demonstration.
Several media were present in the Parisian demonstration.
REUTERS - CHRISTIAN HARTMANN
The French and foreign press denounced "
a security drift
", "
violations of rights
".
Among the critical voices, the defender of rights, the human rights rapporteurs at the UN ... The debate was also invited to
the European Parliament
.
In addition to the traditional structures of the left, trade unions, or civil society who will demonstrate, many personalities have joined the call to demonstrate on Saturday, November 28, now placed under "
the refusal that France is the country of police violence and attacks the freedom to inform
”.
(With AFP)
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