A French court has dismissed an appeal by activists seeking to end the Interior Minister's ban on all pro-Palestinian protests.
The Council of State, France's highest administrative court, said on Wednesday that it was up to local authorities to evaluate case by case the risks to public order.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin sent a note sent to regional police on October 12, ordering that “pro-Palestinian protests, because they are likely to generate disturbances to public order, must be banned”.
But activist group Comite Action Palestine brought an appeal against the instruction to court, saying a total ban is not justified and encroaches on freedom of expression and assembly.
The Council said in its decision that, while the judges regretted the approximative wording of the Minister's note, its intention was to instruct authorities to “ban all protests that support the Palestinian cause, that publicly justify or valorise, directly or indirectly, terrorist acts like those committed in Israel on October 7 by Hamas members.”
Authorities could not decide to ban a protest solely based on this note, it said.
But given the tensions and rise in anti-Semitism in France, protests that “support Hamas are of a nature to provoke disturbances to public order,” the court added.
Protests erupt after Gaza hospital strike kills hundreds – in pictures
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Protesters gather outside the US consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in support of Palestinians after an air strike on a Gaza city hospital killed hundreds earlier this week. EPA -
Protesters gather near the US embassy in Tokyo, Japan, to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. AP -
Protesters wave Palestinian and Syrian opposition flags in support of Gaza residents, in the rebel-held town of Atme in Syria's Idlib province. AFP -
Protesters take part in a pro-Palestinian rally near the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan, amid global outrage over the air strike on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. EPA -
Thousands of pro-Palestinian and Palestinian Americans march towards the Israeli consulate in Chicago during a protest. AP -
Jordanians protest outside the Israeli embassy in Amman following an Israeli air strike which ripped through a Gaza hospital, killing hundreds. AFP -
A rally in support of the people of Gaza after hundreds of Palestinians were killed in a blast at Al Ahli Arab Hospital for which Israel was blamed, though it denied responsibility, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Reuters -
Hezbollah supporters take part in a demonstration after the horrific blast, in southern Beirut. Reuters -
People gather in Baghdad's Tahrir Square to protest against Israel after it bombed Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, killing more than 500. Aymen Al-Ameri / The National -
Thousands of people in Iraq, Iran and Jordan rallied to show their outrage in the aftermath of the Israeli air strike. Aymen Al-Ameri/ The National -
Protesters set fire to a Lebanese security building outside the US embassy in Beirut. Reuters -
A wounded protester is carried away outside the US embassy in Beirut. Reuters -
Protesters gather in front of the US embassy in Beirut to demonstrate against an Israeli air strike on Gaza's Al Ahli Hospital. Reuters -
The blast drew condemnation across the Arab world, and protests were also staged at Israel's embassies in Turkey and Jordan. Reuters -
People clash with riot police outside the Israeli consulate during a protest to show solidarity with Palestinians, in Istanbul. AFP -
Palestinians protest against an Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza, in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. EPA -
Palestinians take part in a protest in Tubas, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters -
Pro-Israel counter protesters are kept away by police officers as people participate in a candlelight vigil organised by NYU students in support of Palestinians in Washington Square Park in New York. AFP -
A pro-Israel counter protester wrapped in the Flag of Israel is escorted away from a vigil organised by NYU students in support of Palestinians in Washington Square Park in New York. AFP -
Iranian students and demonstrators throw eggs at the French embassy in Tehran. AFP -
Several people demonstrate in support of Palestine at the Palestinian Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. EPA -
Protesters wave Palestinian and Moroccan flags as they gather in front of Parliament Square in Rabat, Morocco. EPA -
Protesters burn an Israeli flag as they gather in front of Parliament Square. EPA
“It doesn't make sense to say that pro-Palestine protests, by their nature, will generate disturbances to public order – look at the rest of the world, there are protests with thousands of people for Palestine,” Vincent Brengarth, lawyer for Comite Action Palestine, told Reuters before the decision.
On Wednesday a few hours before the ruling, the police authorities of Marseille said two pro-Palestine protests were to be banned for “risks to public order in the current context”.
