Mobilization in several French cities to denounce the “comprehensive security” law and the clashes in Paris

france 24 –

Thousands of people gathered this Saturday in various regions of France to condemn the “comprehensive security” law that is being prepared, and the organizers of the movement consider that it violates freedoms in a country that has been shaken since Thursday by a new case related to police violence and puts pressure on the government.

Journalists’ organizations, left-wing parties, trade unions and non-governmental organizations in defense of freedoms called demonstrations rejecting this text, amid sporadic acts of violence registered in some marches.

In Paris, Bordeaux, Rennes, Montpellier and Lyon. Demonstrations were held against this text, which its opponents consider violates freedom of expression and the rule of law.

In the city of Lille, in northern France, between 1,000 and 1,500 people gathered, led by Mayor Martin Aubry, under the slogan “Freedom and Equality Shoot!” “They are beating us in scenes that are being cut,” he wrote on a banner raised between the flags, the insignia of the Press Club and various unions, especially for journalists or for the Human Rights Association.

Hundreds of protesters, dressed in black, clashed with security agents at the end of a protest against police violence in Paris on Saturday, after masked men threw stones and fireworks at police officers and set up barricades.

Most of the protesters were peaceful, but small groups of masked men dressed in black smashed the windows of several shops and set fire to two cars, a motorcycle and a cafe. The fires were quickly put out.

The security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd and, in late afternoon, opened water cannons at the remaining groups of protesters in Place de la Bastille. The Interior Ministry estimated the number of protesters in Paris at about 46,000. Police said they arrested nine.

In Montpellier, in the south of the country, between four thousand and five thousand people carried signs that read “More police than doctors: a sense of priorities” or “democracy is broken”.

In Rennes (West), Maud, 45, said she came to protest this “true denial of democracy” and “an authoritarian tendency.”

At the center of the protests that escalated until a political crisis broke out, three articles of the “Comprehensive Security Law” bill, which received the green light from the National Assembly last week, relate to the publication of photos and videos of police officers performing their jobs, and the use of drones and surveillance cameras by security forces.

The Coordination Committee that called meetings saw that “this bill aims to undermine freedom of the press, freedom of information and information, and freedom of expression, that is, ultimately, basic public freedoms in our republic. “.

Article 24, which focuses on attention, stipulates a penalty of one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros for disseminating images of policemen and gendarmes motivated by “bad faith”. The government claims that this article aims to protect people exposed to hate campaigns and calls for murder on social media, while revealing details of their private lives.

However, opponents of the text point out that many of the cases of violence committed by the police would not have been revealed if they had not been captured by the lenses of journalists and the telephones of citizens.

They claim that the law is useless, as existing laws are sufficient to address such crimes, pointing out that French law “punishes actions, not intentions.”

Thousands of people marched across the country to protest police violence and demand freedom of the press after police beat up a black man, a music producer, sparking protests over a bill believed to restrict the freedom of journalists to expose police brutality.

Many carried banners reading “Who will protect us from the police,” “Stop police violence,” and “Strike democracy.” The journalists’ organizations and civil liberty groups that organized the demonstrations were joined by far-left activists, environmental activists and yellow vest protesters who have been protesting government policies for two years.