France's socialist government provoked outrage today by becoming the first in the world to ban protests against Israeli action in Palestine.
In what is viewed as an outrageous attack on democracy, Socialist Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said mass demonstrations planned for the weekend should be halted.
Cazeneuve said there was a "threat to public order", while opponents said he was "criminalising" popular support of the Palestinian people.
Thousands were set to march against the ongoing slaughter in Gaza, calling for an immediate end to hostilities in which civilians, including many children, have been killed, but Cazeneuve fears there might be a repeat of the fights between ultra-Jewish vigilantes and pro-Palestinians which happened after a demonstration last Sunday.
Referring to the main Paris march, Cazeneuve said: "I consider that the conditions are not right to guarantee security."
He welcomed a legal procedure instigated by the Paris police prefecture to ban the march, despite it already being widely advertised.
Cazeneuve also advised other prefects across France to examine planned marches on a "case-by-case" basis, and to ban them "if appropriate".
Michele Sibony, of the Jewish Union for Peace, said: "By outlawing free speech by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, France puts itself in a unique position in the world and Europe."
