French police used tear gas and water cannon to break up a banned rally in support of the Palestinians in Paris on Thursday, as President Emmanuel Macron urged France to remain united and avoid bringing the Israel-Hamas conflict home.
Macron’s interior minister had previously banned pro-Palestinian protests, saying they were “likely to cause a disturbance to public order”.
France is home to the largest Muslim and Jewish communities in Europe.
Middle East conflicts have often fueled domestic tensions in the past.
“This event is an earthquake for Israel, the Middle East and beyond,” Macron said in a solemn TV address. “Let us not pursue ideological adventures at home by imitating or projecting.”
“Let us not add, through illusion or calculation, the domestic gap to the international gap,” he said. “The shield of unity will protect us from hatred and extremism.”
A pro-Palestinian protester holds a flag during a rally in the Place de Republique in France on Thursday.Telmo Pinto/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Interior minister Macron had earlier banned pro-Palestinian protests, saying they were “likely to cause a disturbance to public order”. .Telmo Pinto Images/SOPA/Shutterstock
Macron said the government had acted to increase police protection of Jewish sites, including schools and synagogues, and that there was no justification for the brutality.
“There is no ‘Yes, but’. Those who confuse the Palestinian struggle with the justification of violence are making a moral, political and strategic mistake.”
Before he spoke, France’s left-wing party Unbowed faced criticism for refusing to call the Hamas attack an act of terrorism, causing tension with fellow opposition Socialists and Greens.
PROHIBITED ASSEMBLY
Despite the ban, several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in central Paris in separate groups that police forces tried to prevent from merging.
Macron said the government had acted to increase police protection of Jewish sites, including schools and synagogues, and that there was no justification for the brutality. Telmo Pinto/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Despite the ban, several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in central Paris in separate groups that police forces tried to prevent from merging.Telmo Pinto/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Demonstrators chanted “Killer of Israel” and “Macron’s complicity”.
Macron had earlier condemned the deadly attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and voiced solidarity with Israel.
“We live in a country of civil law, a country where we have the right to take a stand and demonstrate. (It is unfair) to ban one side and allow the other side,” said Charlotte Vautier, 29, a worker at a non-profit organization that participated in the rally.
Earlier this week, Hamas called for protests across the Muslim world on Friday in support of the Palestinian people.
French police used tear gas and water cannon to break up a banned rally in support of the Palestinians in Paris on Thursday.Telmo Pinto/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Macron has previously condemned the deadly attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and voiced solidarity with Israel. via REUTERS
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Paris were already banned on Thursday due to fears of a flare-up when interior minister Gerald Darmanin told watchdogs to ban all pro-Palestinian demonstrations nationwide.
Since Saturday’s cross-border Hamas attack from Gaza, French police have arrested more than 20 people in dozens of antisemitic acts, including harassment of Jewish children by fellow pupils at school, the government said on Wednesday.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
