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News > World

French Defy Protest Ban with Vigils, Refugee Rallies

  • People gather outside Notre Dame Cathedral where a mass is held following a series of deadly attacks in Paris, Nov. 15, 2015.

    People gather outside Notre Dame Cathedral where a mass is held following a series of deadly attacks in Paris, Nov. 15, 2015. | Photo: Reuters

Published 15 November 2015
Opinion

Several were injured in an anti-immigrant protest in the northeast, but more showed up to mourn the losses and show solidarity with refugees. Other gatherings for housing, labor and Kurdish rights were cancelled.

Despite directives to cancel all protests this weekend in light of France's state of emergency, hundreds gathered in peaceful solidarity in Paris and the northern cities of Arras and Lille, while anti-immigrant protesters marched in Brittany.

Air-traffic controllers and doctors called off their strike, and organizers of at least three protests in Paris cancelled their actions. Two were against the evacuation of squatters running a social and housing center and a pop-up refugee camp, and another was in solidarity with the Kurds of Silvan, who have been under a deadly siege by the Turkish army since Wednesday.

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The police-issued notice read that public gatherings are potential targets of terrorist attacks and that police forces "cannot be distracted from this priority mission to assure the specific security of processions or gatherings in public spaces."

Despite the mandate, activist Denis Godard encouraged people to show up to the protest against the eviction of refugee-pitched tents in the Place de la Republique, site of the mass Charlie Hebdo marches and also close to four of Friday's attacks.

"Ten months after (the attack on Charlie Hebdo), the deaths in the streets of Paris are even higher," he wrote on Paris Luttes. "Ten months later, the situation of the migrants, refugees and undocumented immigrants is also even more catastrophic."

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He and others showed up to defy the orders of "the planet's butchers," while thousands gathered in various places around the city with candles, posters and prayers. Some participated in a spontaneous "free hugs" circle at the Place de la Republique, and a man played a piano that he rolled in near the Bataclan concert venue, site of the deadliest attack.

In Arras and Lille, not far from Calais--where refugee tents caught fire Friday --thousands gathered silently, interrupted momentarily by anti-immigrant hecklers, reported Reporterre. In Lille, police ended the vigil after fifteen minutes due to "risk of disturbing public order," according to a regional paper.

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Anti-immigrant protesters led a march through Pontivy in Brittany, demanding a referendum on migration policy.

The state of emergency grants far-reaching executive powers, including censorship and easier arrests. Activists worry that future decisions to ban protests could affect actions planned for the COP21 climate conference that will be held in Paris on November 30.

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Tags

Europe Paris attacks Social movements Refugee & immigrant rights Labor rights

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