Following the example of other French cities such as Marseille, Lille, Lyon, and naturally Paris, where there have been some disturbances, anti-Israel and pro-Palestine demonstrations took place this past weekend in Nice without any issues to report.
Convened by social media, these demonstrations did not cause major problems, being limited to a few pro or against slogans.
Nevertheless, Prefect Adolphe Colrat, urged by Christian Estrosi, had banned any gathering. But despite the ban, groups of demonstrators, between 200 and 300 people, gathered at Place Garibaldi.
To the sound of “Israel murderer” and “We are all children of Gaza,” the demonstrators were gathered but did not march.
The first activists arrived on site around 2 PM. “They were just a handful then. But an hour later, they were several hundred, and new demonstrators were arriving every minute,” testified a journalist from Nice-Matin present at the scene.
Place Garibaldi was surrounded by law enforcement officers, police, and CRS, to prevent any attempt at a march.
Their explanation “supporting the Palestinians cannot be the hatred of Jews. Helping this conflict zone is about exporting peace and not importing hatred” holds, at least theoretically, even if it is clear that their support for the Palestinian cause is primarily political.
Security forces had well supervised the demonstration, which experienced no moments of concern.
The essential thing is that the right to demonstrate freely is exercised in compliance with the rules and does not spill over into acts of anti-Semitism.
While expressing solidarity with their supporters is a right, in a time where an escalation that plays into the hands of radicals on both sides results in a significant number of deaths, instrumentalizing it for other purposes would be unacceptable.
Let everyone operate within their rights and not cross the continuous line that would inevitably lead to an appropriate response from the authorities in charge of public order.
And let those who hold public office not use it for political propaganda but rather show a sense of responsibility.
