Throngs of pro-Palestinian protesters turned up in defiance of a government ban on their demonstration in the French capital Saturday, leadi...
Throngs of pro-Palestinian protesters turned up in defiance of a government ban on their demonstration in the French capital Saturday, leading to violent clashes with police and dozens of arrests. Images on French TV showed a small number of protesters throwing rocks and police responding with tear gas, which wafted through debris-strewn streets of the Barbès neighborhood near central Paris. By 6:45 p.m. local time, 33 people had been arrested for throwing projectiles and assaulting police officers, a police official said. It wasn't immediately clear whether anyone was injured, the official added. The clashes underscore a dilemma facing France's Socialist government. President François Hollande has faced searing criticism in France—home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority—for what pro-Palestinian groups say is his failure to take a stand against Israel's incursions in the Gaza strip. At the same time, Mr. Hollande is under pressure from even broader swaths of the French public, which blames minorities and immigrants for a perceived rise in violent crime and delinquency. The far-right National Front is garnering support by accusing Mr. Hollande's ranks of being soft on crime and illegal immigration. Saturday's clashes occurred at the tail end of a large rally that had been called by several French political organizations, including the far-left New Anticapitalist Party, despite a French government ban. The rally had been banned on Friday after government officials expressed concern that it could turn violent. Last Sunday, a similar rally in Paris sought to steer the march toward two synagogues and clashed with riot police, and eight arrests. Earlier Saturday, French President François Hollande justified the decision to ban the rally at a news conference, saying groups have other ways to express themselves. "Those who want at any cost to protest will be held accountable," he told TV cameras. Nevertheless, French TV showed a large number of protesters showing up at 3 p.m., chanting and waving Palestinian flags under raised metro tracks. French television estimated between several hundred and several thousand people attended the rally at its peak, but the police official said the police didn't immediately have any estimate. Article source : http://online.wsj.com/articles/pro-palestinian-protesters-clash-with-paris-police-following-ban-on-rally-1405790372 Video source : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bgW8-0o6po #financial_support_div{ display:none; position: absolute; width:300px; height:180px; margin-left: -150px; margin-top: -70px; /*- half of width and height */ top:50%; left:50%; padding: 5px; opacity:0.9; filter:alpha(opacity=90); z-index:1000; background-color:#000; color: white; } .close_box{ background: gray; color:#fff; padding:1px 3px; display:inline; position:absolute; right:1px; margin-right: -13px; margin-top: -13px; border-radius:3px; cursor:pointer; border: 1px #000 solid; } $(document).on("click",".close_box",function(){ $(this).parent().fadeTo(300,0,function(){ $(this).remove(); }); }); Loading the player ... Less