Republished from dailymail.co.uk
- Move follows violence at protests in Paris last weekend
- Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said there was a 'threat to public order'
- Thousands across France were set to march again this weekend
- Anyone who breaks the ban faces a year in prison and a 15,000 euro fine.
- If they hide their faces the sentence can be increased to three years jail, and a 45,000 euro fine
France's
Socialist government provoked outrage today by becoming the first in the
world to ban protests against Israeli action in Palestine.
In
what is viewed as an outrageous attack on democracy, Socialist Interior
Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said mass demonstrations planned for the
weekend should be halted.
Mr
Cazeneuve said there was a ‘threat to public order’, while opponents
said he was ‘criminalising’ popular support of the Palestinian people.
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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take to the
streets of Paris on Sunday. France's socialist government has sparked
uproar after it banned protests against Israeli action in Palestine
Thousands
were set to march against the ongoing slaughter in Gaza, calling for an
immediate end to hostilities in which civilians including many children
have been killed.
But Mr
Cazeneuve fears there might be a repeat of the fights between ‘ultra’
Jewish vigilantes and pro-Palestinians which happened after a
demonstration last Sunday.
Referring to the main Paris march, Mr Cazeneuve said: ‘I consider that the conditions are not right to guarantee security.’
Socialist Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve
fears there might be a repeat of the fights between Jewish vigilantes
and pro-Palestinians which happened after a demonstration last Sunday
He
welcomed a legal procedure instigated by the Paris police prefecture to
ban the march, despite it already being widely advertised.
Anyone who turns up to an illegal demonstration now faces up to a year in prison, and a 15,000 euro fine.
If they hide their faces to avoid being identified, this sentence can be increased to three years, and a 45,000 fine.
Even those who publish details of an illegal rally on social media face up to a year in prison, and a 15,000 euro fine.
This can be increased to seven years and a 100,000 fine if the postings lead to violence.
Mr
Cazeneuve also advised other prefects across France to examine planned
marches on a ‘case by case’ basis, and to ban ‘if appropriate’.
But
Michele Sibony, of the Jewish Union for Peace, said: ‘By outlawing free
speech by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, France puts itself in a unique
position in the world and Europe.’
And
Youssef Boussoumah, of the Party of the Indigenous of the Republic
(PIR) said: ‘France is criminalising any show of solidarity with the
Palestinian people.
‘This
is an absolute outrage, it is a continuation of attempts to muzzle the
Palestinian people and to get them and their supporters in France to
surrender absolutely to Israel's oppression.’
Sylvie
Perrot, another pro-Palestine activist from Paris, said: ‘Fascist
states stop people demonstrating against wars – it is beyond belief that
French Socialists are following their example.’
There were false claims made last week that synagogues in Paris had been targeted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
In fact videos showed armed vigilantes from a group called the Jewish Defence League (LDJ) baiting demonstrators into fights.
A protester wearing a gas mask holds a fake rocket during protests in Paris over the weekend
A pro-Palestinian demonstrator shouts anti
Israeli slogans in Paris on Sunday. The French government is attempting
to prevent planned marches this weekend from going ahead
There were no arrests among the LDJ, despite them fighting and smashing up property in full view of the police.
Six
pro-Palestine protestors were arrested for a variety of public order
offences, but none had been anywhere near Paris synagogues, which
remained undamaged.
A
judicial enquiry is set to be launched into the false allegations made
about the synagogue attacks – ones which people claim were made up to
demonise supporters of Palestine by associating them with anti-Semitism.
On Friday night lawyers for a number of
groups hoping to campaign on behalf of Palestine on Saturday lodged an
appeal against the ban in a Paris court.
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