Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in central Paris on Thursday, in defiance of a controversial new ban on pro-Palestinian rallies in the country. French police and members of the gendarmerie worked to disperse the crowds with tear gas and water cannons, visuals showed. The ban had been announced earlier in the day, according to a message sent by French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin to the country's police, citing concerns about public order. "Pro-Palestinian demonstrations must be prohibited because they are likely to generate disturbances to the public order," said the minister. He added that any organization of such protests will lead to arrests. Darmanin also called on the police to protect all locations visited by French Jews such as synagogues and schools, and said any foreigner committing acts of anti-Semitism on French soil will be "immediately expelled". The ban follows a deadly and massive attack by militant group Hamas on Israel over the weekend that killed more than 1,200 people. The Israeli government has retaliated with overwhelming force in the coastal enclave of Gaza, which Hamas controls. Airstrikes have killed over 1,500 people in the densely inhabited area, and Israeli officials have shut off supplies of water and fuel to the entire population. As the conflict reaches unprecedented heights, protests in support of both Israelis and Palestinians have been seen around the world – some resulting in violent clashes. French President Emmanuel Macron in his address to the nation on Thursday called on the French people to stay united, saying that "it is this shield of unity that will protect us from drifting away and from all hatred." Despite the ban, thousands of protesters gathered in Paris, Lille, Bordeaux and other cities on Thursday. Demonstrators in the historic Place de la Republique on Thursday whistled, clapped, and chanted in slogans in French including "We are all Palestinian" and "Palestine will live, Palestine will prevail." Pro-Palestinian groups said the ban risked threatening freedom of expression and pledged to continue demonstrating in support of the Palestinian people. The ban on protests is "not normal under the rule of law," one attendee named Ryan told Reuters. "In France, the great country that they say France is, you cannot demonstrate as is your right, freely. Unfortunately, freedom is no longer here, and we are forced to defy French law, as one would say, and demonstrate to show the truth," he added. Another protester described the ban as a "great injustice" and told Reuters that he had been fined 135 euros (roughly $140) for wearing the keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian scarf. France is one of a number of European nations, including the United Kingdom and Germany, where security measures have been stepped up amid fears of reprisals against members of the Jewish communities. Hours later, police made 10 arrests and used water cannon to disperse a 3,000-strong rally at Paris's Place de la République, where demonstrators chanted "Israel murderer" and "Palestine will win" and waved Palestinian flags. Ten people were also arrested at another rally in Lille. Charlotte Vautier, who attended the rally, told Reuters: "We live in a country of civil law, a country where we have the right to take a stand and to demonstrate. "[It is unfair] to forbid for one side and to authorise for the other." Meanwhile, police in Germany's capital Berlin also banned planned pro-Palestinian demonstrations, citing the risk of antisemitic statements and glorification of violence. Police said around 60 demonstrators complied with an order to leave Potsdamer Platz on Thursday. France has a Jewish community of almost 500,000, the largest in Europe. France's Muslim community is also among Europe's largest -- an estimated five million. Darmanin told regional representatives on Thursday that Jewish schools and synagogues should be protected by a visible police presence. French police are already guarding the homes of leading MPs. National Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet and MP Meyer Habib, who are both Jewish, have been offered further protection. It has emerged that Ms Braun-Pivet, a member of Macron's Renaissance party, has received death threats. She had parliament lit this week in the colours of the Israeli flag, and called a minute's silence before an Assembly session on Tuesday. Ms Braun-Pivet also announced that Maryam Abu Daqqa, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), would be banned from attending a documentary screening in parliament next month. The militant organisation is recognised as a terrorist organisation by the EU. Meyer Habib represents a constituency for overseas French citizens, which includes Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and is a vocal supporter of Israel. After the Hamas attack he said "we are witnessing the return of pogroms". — Agencies
