NewzPARIS (AP) — Thousands of protesters took to the Paris streets on Thursday while other cities banned demonstrations following a weekend of clashes and widespread looting that marked France’s most violent unrest in years.Organizers of the Paris protest said an administrative court in the city overturned a ban issued by police after they challenged it. The Paris police prefecture previously said the ban was necessary, given the risk of street violence after groups of masked youth clashed with police forces, looted shops and torched cars over the weekend.The Paris court ruling was not immediately made public. Protesters, including many youngsters, gathered peacefully and chanted in the southeastern part of Paris, amid heavy police presence.“We don’t need tear gas for our future to look bleak,” read a banner unfurled by protesters.Organizers signed a police document stating that the protest would remain stationary due to the risk of violence.More bans were expected in the coming days.
French President Emmanuel Macron said such measures aim to protect city centers, businesses and public buildings.The right to demonstrate in France is protected by the French Constitution, and the ban on demonstrations planned for Thursday in Paris, Lyon, Lille and Grenoble was seen by some as an infringement on French people’s right to protest.High school and university student groups said they will continue to mobilize, even though the autumn school break started this week.Macron said the strategy adopted for the coming days is to ban protests requested by “individuals or groups with no legitimate authority.” His remarks came after a special security meeting at the Elysée Palace.“Where trade unions submit requests to hold demonstrations, prefects will examine them in accordance with the law, but alternative routes will be proposed” to protect city centers, businesses and public buildings, Macron said.“The rules are simple, and I think they’re just common sense. The general recommendation is that there should be no demonstrations in the coming days," he said. “For those who still want to protest, if they are trade unions, prefects will propose alternative routes."Macron blamed the weekend's violence on “actions led by radical far-left groups who aimed to bring the Republic down," in addition to criminals who came to loot.The turmoil in Paris and other French cities has prompted a…
A Paris protest Thursday organised by students – who had held four weeks of protests before the Oct 17 rallies – was banned by the capital's police. (EPA Images pic)PARIS: French authorities on Thursday imposed bans or restrictions on fresh protests springing up in the wake of demonstrations last weekend that degenerated into the worst street violence in years.President Emmanuel Macron said, after chairing a meeting of key ministers and intelligence officials, that curfews and other security measures would be imposed, including bans on "groups without legitimacy" holding protests."The priority is a return to calm," he said, adding that he would chair a defence council meeting of key ministers on Friday to decide "the next steps" for new nationwide demonstrations called for Saturday and afterwards.Officials are still reeling from the clashes, widespread looting and vandalism of public buildings that broke out on Oct 17, on the margins of mass demonstrations of more than half a million people against the surging cost of living.Macron's government has admitted police lost control, and candidates jockeying to succeed him in presidential elections in six months' time argue that authorities are incapable or unwilling to calm the situation.The worst of the violence, Macron said, "was led by organised ultra-left groups aiming to bring down the republic".Protests bannedA Paris protest Thursday organised by students – who had held four weeks of protests before the Oct 17 rallies – was banned by the capital's police."The authorities are trying to make a distinction between 'good' and 'bad' protesters," said a university student leader, Coppelia Moreau, as lawyers requested a court injunction against the ban."What we are seeing is a government that doesn't want any demonstrations at all. That goes against the right to demonstrate," she told journalists.Authorities on Thursday also declared a ban on "all protests" in the southwestern city of Lyon on Saturday.France's third-biggest city suffered the looting of 200 to 300 shops last weekend and the torching of a tourist office in what its mayor described as hours of "chaos".Other cities, including Grenoble, Rouen, Le Havre and Toulon, issued bans on protests in their city centres.In Paris, the city's police said Thursday that the march planned for Saturday could be held in the east of the capital, starting at Bastille, bu…
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