Paris police have barred unions from using their proposed route between Place de la Bastille and Place de la Concorde for a November 5 demonstration, instead authorizing a march from Place de la République to Place de la Nation along Boulevard Voltaire. The march may take place from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to an order published on Wednesday, November 4.
The demonstration is part of a nationwide strike call focused on wages and employment. Organizers expect it to bring together private- and public-sector workers, retirees, high school students and university students.
The police order cites public-order requirements and the need to prevent disorder and damage. It says the march comes amid a tense social climate, referring to urban unrest in Paris on October 17, and warns of a serious risk of attacks on public institutions. Authorities also argued that the unions’ proposed route would pass near institutional sites, including the National Assembly, as well as commercial streets that could be targeted by radical groups or opportunistic vandals.
Vincent Gautheron, secretary-general of the CGT’s regional union in Île-de-France, told Agence France-Presse that the alternative route surprised the union because police had rejected it two weeks earlier on security grounds. The inter-union group had filed its route declaration on October 21 and had been waiting for a response, the report said.
In a separate order, police also banned a demonstration organized in the name of the “Yellow Vests” union near the Élysée Palace in Paris’s 8th arrondissement. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has asked prefects and security officials to prepare reinforced, flexible and responsive security measures for the day, which he described as sensitive.
Sources: Le Monde Politique.