French police used tear gas and water cannon to break up a banned demonstration in support of the Palestinian people in Paris on Thursday, as President Emmanuel Macron urged the French to remain united and refrain from bringing home the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The French Interior Ministry had banned pro-Palestinian protests on the grounds that they "would probably lead to disturbances in public order."
France is home to Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish communities and the Middle East conflict has often stoked internal tensions in the past. "This event is an earthquake for Israel, the Middle East and beyond," Macron said in a solemn television address. "Let us not pursue ideological adventures at home by imitating or projecting."
Macron said the government had acted to increase police protection of Jewish sites, including schools and synagogues, and that there could be no justification for the atrocities.
Despite the ban, several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in central Paris in separate groups that police forces tried to prevent from merging.
Protesters chanted "Israel murderer" and "Macron complicit." Macron earlier condemned the deadly attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and expressed his solidarity with Israel.
"We live in a civil law country, a country where we have the right to take a stand and demonstrate. (It's unfair) to ban one side and empower the other," said Charlotte Vautier, 29, an employee of a nonprofit organization. of profit that participated in the demonstration.
The Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, has asked prefects to ban all pro-Palestinian demonstrations throughout the country and to arrest anyone who defies the order "because they are likely to disturb public order." Pro-Palestinian associations condemned the measure.
The National Collective for a Just and Lasting Peace between Palestinians and Israelis denounced "this threat to freedom of expression" and pledged to continue taking actions to support the Palestinian people.
Earlier this week, thousands of people marched in Paris in support of Israel and the Eiffel Tower was illuminated with a Star of David and the blue and white of the Israeli flag. Other European cities have seen pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent days, as well as pro-Israeli rallies.
Since Hamas' cross-border attack from Gaza on Saturday, French police have arrested more than 20 people in dozens of anti-Semitic acts, including the bullying of Jewish children by schoolmates, the government said Wednesday.
