This weekend, six actions in connection with the ultra-right and the extreme right were to be held in Paris. But some were banned, after the instruction formulated to the prefects by Gérald Darmanin.
Some actions allowed, others not. Six rallies organized by movements linked to the extreme right or the ultra-right were planned in Paris this weekend. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin however instructed the prefects on Tuesday to ban this type of demonstration, after the images of hooded demonstrators from the “Comité du 9-Mai” sparked a wave of indignation last week. What actions were ultimately allowed?
• The Action Française symposium
The event, organized on Saturday by the royalist movement close to the far right, was initially banned by the prefect of police, before this ban was suspended on Saturday by the courts.
The symposium finally took place on Saturday afternoon. According to our information, two people were arrested, one for wearing a balaclava, the other for wearing shell gloves.
• The demonstration of yellow vests
A gathering of yellow vests scheduled for Saturday was banned by the police chief. No appeal was then filed in court by the organizers.
People nevertheless gathered on Saturday and some were arrested.
• The demonstration at Place d’Armes
Same scenario as for the yellow vests, the demonstration of the small group “Place d’Armes”, composed of former soldiers, was banned without any appeal being filed. There too, however, people demonstrated.
A total of 62 people were arrested by the police on Saturday in connection with these last two unauthorized demonstrations.
• Demonstration of the French Action
In addition to the symposium on Saturday, the royalist movement planned to demonstrate this Sunday morning. If this gathering was first banned by the Paris police chief, the decree was suspended on Saturday by the administrative court.
The rally was finally held this Sunday morning, between Place de l’Opéra and Place des Pyramides, in the center of the capital.
• Demonstration of the Nationalists
Organized by Yvan Benedetti, a far-right figure known for his “nationalist and patriotic” positions, the demonstration was banned by the prefect of police. A decision this time confirmed by justice. It therefore cannot take place.
“The prefect of police welcomes the decision of the administrative court which has retained the risk of making remarks inciting hatred or racial discrimination. This judgment paves the way for future bans on ultra-right demonstrations”, a assured the prefecture to BFMTV.
In this case, the administrative court highlighted the liabilities of Yvan Benedetti, whose former movement (L’Oeuvre Française) was dissolved in 2013. He had also been convicted of Holocaust denial in 2021 and challenging crimes against humanity in 2022. Yvan Benedetti having planned to participate in his demonstration, justice considered that the risk of speech inciting hatred was real.
• Demonstration “Thinking about France”
The demonstration of the movement “of patriotic awakening ‘Penser la France'” planned for this Sunday in the capital was banned by the prefect, without any appeal being filed. A decision accepted by the organizers.
“The ‘Penser la France’ clubs have decided to cancel this demonstration on the public highway without contesting it before the judge in chambers, which is of no use in Emmanuel Macron’s France”, indicates the movement in a press release.
