A French administrative court suspended a police ban on a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Paris, ruling that authorities had not established sufficient grounds to claim the protest posed a threat to public order. The decision allowed the rally to proceed on 7 October, after police had attempted to prohibit it.
The demonstration, organised by the Urgence Palestine collective, was called to oppose the Israeli war on Gaza and demand respect for the ceasefire. Paris police chief Patrice Faure had banned it at the request of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, citing risks of public disorder, a high terrorist threat and what he described as historically high levels of antisemitic acts in France.
The court found that the risks cited by the authorities were not substantiated by the evidence submitted. It also noted the authorities’ concerns about the date of the demonstration and anti-Zionist slogans reportedly chanted at a similar protest the previous year.
The ruling highlights the tension between authorities’ powers to restrict demonstrations and the right to peaceful assembly. Police had sought to prevent the protest from taking place, but the court ruled that the justification provided was insufficient to uphold the ban.
The demonstration was therefore permitted to go ahead, reaffirming that authorities cannot prohibit a protest solely by invoking general concerns about public order without establishing that the risks are substantiated.
