French Council of State rejects appeal — but states local authorities ‘alone’ should evaluate individual cases for security risks.
The top French court on Wednesday ruled that pro-Palestine demonstrations can still be banned in the country, rejecting an appeal from an organization defending the Palestinian cause in France.
But the court stated that local authorities “alone” should evaluate individual cases for potential risks to public order.
On Friday, Palestine Action Committee — a French-based pro-Palestinian organization — had filed an appeal to the French Council of State asking for the suspension of Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin’s instruction to regional leaders to prohibit pro-Palestine protests.
It said the government’s move was “a further step in the radicalization of the French state against any support for the Palestinians.”
The organization calls on “all activists of the cause, all free spirits, to react and fight so that we can express, together, our support for the glorious Palestinian resistance in the face of a criminal and implacable enemy.”
Since Hamas militants launched a violent attack on Israel earlier this month, thousands of people have taken to the streets in France in support of Palestinians, prompting the French government to demand a ban on pro-Palestinian protests amid security concerns.
Source: Politico