Paris (AFP)

Thousands of people marched on Saturday for the third week in a row in the streets of Paris and several other cities to denounce the very controversial Global Security bill, in their eyes "liberticide", and the bill on separatism.

Part of this collective, however, decided to organize a Parisian parade from Place du Châtelet to that of the Republic, duly registered with the police headquarters which did not prohibit it.

Gathered behind a huge banner proclaiming "stop the liberticidal laws, stop Islamophobia", several thousand demonstrators began to march towards 3:00 p.m. in the direction of the Place de la République, in the rain and tightly packed by large numbers of CRS and of mobile gendarmes.

"We cannot stay at home in the face of what is currently happening in the country, and which is serious. The government is legislating with a vengeance, there is no parliamentary control, and (he) is reducing our freedoms. text, "Christophe, a 47-year-old professor of philosophy of art, told AFP.

- Interpellations -

Adopted by the deputies, the proposed comprehensive security law has for weeks aroused sharp criticism from the left, journalists and NGOs defending freedoms, in particular its article 24 which penalizes the malicious dissemination of images of security forces. order.

The text is accused by its detractors of undermining the freedoms of the press, of expression and of demonstrating "and of establishing" tools of mass surveillance. "These criticisms were reinforced by the filmed beating of the producer of Michel Zecler music by police officers, November 21.

These last two Saturday, tens of thousands of people marched in Paris and regions to demand its withdrawal.

These rallies were the scene, mainly in the capital, of violent clashes between the police and demonstrators qualified as "ultra" or "thugs" by the authorities.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had reported 95 arrests and 67 wounded among police and gendarmes last Saturday.

By mid-afternoon, he had already reported 81 arrests in Paris.

“Thank you to the police officers who sometimes face ultra-violent individuals,” he tweeted.

- "Fuzzy cop, blurry cop" -

Earlier in the day, around 1,800 people, according to the prefecture, marched in peace through downtown Montpellier.

"I am not only protesting against the global security law", explained Coline Marguet, a 23-year-old student, "we are heading towards too many restrictions, in general".

"Our duty as citizens is to ensure that our rights are respected," added Anne-Marie Briand, a 49-year-old doctor, holding up a sign "A fuzzy cop is a loose cop".

From 200 to 300 people also gathered in Lille to denounce the global security law but also the government's bill against separatism deemed "Islamophobic".

"Everything is a little linked, the desire to silence oppositions, the stigmatization of Muslims", judged Samuel, computer graphics designer.

Faced with the outcry provoked by article 24, the government finally left it to parliament to find a new wording when the text is due to go before the Senate in January.

Presented in the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, the bill against separatism aims to strengthen the fight against radical Islamism, in the wake of the jihadist attack which claimed the life of Samuel Paty.

It is denounced by some on the left as a law of "stigmatization of Muslims".

To demine this sling and the controversy over police violence, Emmanuel Macron decided to convene in January a "Security Beauvau" to review the conditions for the exercise of the missions of the police and "consolidate" their links with the population.

© 2020 AFP