Far-right demonstration in Paris: in the face of criticism, the police prefecture justifies itself

A member of the far-right group "Comite du 9 Mai" participates in a rally to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the death of Sébastien Deyzieu, in Paris, May 6, 2023. © Emmanuel Dunand / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

The demonstration Saturday in Paris of several hundred ultra-right activists, which had not been banned, aroused Monday, May 8, sharp criticism on the left and a rain of criticism, leading the prefecture of police to justify itself in a statement.

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This Saturday, nearly 600 activists of the May 9 committee, according to the authorities, demonstrated in Paris to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the death of a far-right activist, Sébastien Deyzieu, who died accidentally in 1994. These demonstrators, dressed in black and often masked, displayed black flags marked with the Celtic cross and chanted, at the end of the rally, "Europe youth revolution", the slogan of the GUD (Groupe d'union Défense), a French far-right student organization known for its violent actions and very active in the 1970s. According to information from Mediapart, two former treasurers of Marine Le Pen were present at the demonstration.

On Monday, on Twitter, the socialist senator of Paris David Assouline notably challenged the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin, considering "inadmissible to have let 500 neo-Nazis and fascists parade in the heart of Paris". "Explain yourself!" he urged in his tweet. Also on Twitter, PCF spokesman Ian Brossat, elected from Paris, joked in the middle of the day, writing: "pots and pans are obviously more dangerous than the sounds of boots...

Pans and pans are obviously more dangerous than the sounds of boots... https://t.co/nxlzAnz4bS

— Ian Brossat (@IanBrossat) May 8, 2023

The demonstration has been the subject of much criticism on the left while since the adoption of the controversial law on pensions, bans on demonstrations have multiplied in France to avoid "breaks" against President Emmanuel Macron and members of the government. The Paris police prefecture (PP) justified in a long statement the non-ban of the ultra-right demonstration.

The Paris police prefecture stressed that "insofar as this demonstration had not caused, in previous years, any excesses or disturbances to public order, the prefect of police was not justified in issuing a prohibition order against him".

« No risk to public order »

She also argued that in January, the prefect of police's ban on a torchlight march of "Paris pride" (a well-known association on the far right) had "been suspended" by the judge. The administrative court had considered, noted the Paris police headquarters, that "the alleged antecedents of disturbances on the sidelines of the gatherings organized by the same collective in previous years, did not allow on their own to establish a risk of disturbing public order sufficient to justify the ban on demonstrations".

«

The demonstration of May 6 was the subject of an adapted supervision by the police, to avoid any risk of excesses or clashes, "added the prefecture of police, which had taken an order authorizing the recording of images by drone. She promised that "any criminal act found during this demonstration or that the subsequent exploitation of the images would make it possible to identify, will be reported to the judicial authority. ".

On BFMTV, the prefect of police Laurent Nuñez announced that he had "seized without waiting the prosecutor of Paris" on the fact "that individuals, most, demonstrated the face concealed", which constitutes an offense. "The legal conditions were not in place to ban this demonstration. I assume it totally," he insisted.

The prefect was annoyed that some could accuse him of being "more tolerant with the far right than with the far left". "This is totally false and absolutely unacceptable to me," said Laurent Nuñez, recalling his past work at the Directorate General of Internal Security and then as coordinator of the fight against terrorism.

He stressed that a "dozen cases" concerning the ultra-right were currently being handled by the national anti-terrorist prosecutor's office (PNAT).

► Also listen: Decryption: Far-right violence, a threat to our democracies?

(

With AFP)

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