Paris (AFP)
The organizers of the demonstration in support of the Palestinian people scheduled for Saturday in Paris hope Friday to obtain from justice the cancellation of its ban, requested by the government and which sparks a lively political debate.
To challenge the "unjust and abusive" prohibition order taken Thursday evening by the Paris police prefect, lawyers for the Association of Palestinians in Ile-de-France filed an appeal for interim relief with the administrative court , they told AFP.
This should examine it in the afternoon, told AFP Me Sefen Guez Guez, Me Dominique Cochain and Me Ouadie Elhamamouchi, who hope for a decision during the day.
"France is the only democracy to ban such a demonstration!", Underlines Me Guez Guez, denouncing an attack on the freedom of expression "totally" disproportionate ". He also deplores the" political "nature of this decision" taken at the request of the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin ".
To justify his prohibition order, the Paris police chief, Didier Lallement, pointed out "a serious risk" of "serious disturbances to public order", as well as "abuses against synagogues and Israeli interests".
And put forward, like Mr. Darmanin, the precedent of 2014, when a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Paris had degenerated into clashes.
"Since 2014, there have been plenty of demonstrations in defense of the Palestinian cause which have taken place without any problem," replied Me Guez Guez.
The Association of Palestinians in Ile-de-France had "condemned this ban" Thursday evening with AFP through the voice of one of its officials, Walid Atallah, who denounced the "complicity of France with the State of Israel ".
"France guarantees the freedoms of expression and to demonstrate, and Palestine must not be an exception," he stressed.
"A people receives bombs on the head, dozens of civilians are killed, and we would not have the right to say that we do not agree?"
- "Provocation" -
The protest was originally planned to commemorate the Nakba, the exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians upon the creation of Israel in 1948. Before the surge in violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip in recent days took shape the prospect of an important gathering.
The organizers intended in particular to denounce the position of France, considered too favorable to Israel, and ask it to "condemn more firmly the bombings which kill civilians in Gaza", according to Mr. Atallah.
Gérald Darmanin asked the prefects on Thursday to closely follow the gatherings planned in other cities in France, not to hesitate to ban them if necessary, and to ensure the protection of places frequented by the Jewish community.
The case arouses a lively debate in the political class between supporters of the government's request - in the majority, on the right and on the extreme right - and those who denounce an "unacceptable" ban, led by La France insoumise (LFI) .
Former Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who this week gave his support to Israel, approved a "serious but justified decision", saying "a part of the left or the far left is using this conflict as a pretext to justify anti-Semitism ".
LREM deputy from Paris Sylvain Maillard considered the ban "hard", "serious", "but necessary to preserve public order".
The ban was also approved by the Republicans and the National Rally.
"It is out of the question to import on our soil" the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, abounded Friday on BFMTV the number two of LR, Guillaume Peltier.
"It is better that there are no demonstrations", in particular to avoid "anti-Semitic provocations", abounded on CNews the spokesman of the RN, Sébastien Chenu.
"Mr. Darmanin raises the risk of violence, it is a provocation on his part," said for his part on France 2 the LFI deputy of Seine-Saint-Denis, Eric Coquerel, adding: "It is a geopolitical conflict, the problem is a colonized people who have their capital occupied against all UN resolutions ".
Clashes between Hamas and Israel had left more than 100 dead in Gaza on Friday morning, a Palestinian enclave under Israeli blockade controlled by Hamas, and eight on the Israeli side, and showed no sign of appeasement.
© 2021 AFP