(AP) — French authorities are forbidding pro-Palestinian protests in some cities after violence marred a recent march against the violence in Gaza, as Jewish-Muslim tensions in France have reached their highest level in years.
Moderates on both sides called Wednesday for calm, and for a halt to fighting in the Mideast. France has Western Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish populations, and Israeli-Palestinian unrest often translates into anger between the communities.
Screenshot from a video uploaded to YouTube showing what appears to be pro-Israel demonstrators clashing with pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Paris on July 13, 2014.
After several thousand pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched peacefully Sunday through Paris, clashes broke out among small groups, including some who attacked synagogues, Jewish stores and neighborhoods.
Militants from the Jewish Defense League were also involved in violence against pro-Palestinian demonstrators, according to Roger Cukierman, head of France’s leading Jewish organization, CRIF.
Speaking Wednesday to the Associated Press, he denounced the league’s violent methods and lamented that its actions Sunday — including provoking pro-Palestinian protesters — could further inflame anger.
A march was planned for Paris on Saturday. A police official says it would be banned because of “the serious risk of disruption of public order that such a protest could engender, in a context of heightened tension.” The official, who wasn’t authorized to be publicly named, spoke on condition of anonymity.
Authorities also ban protests in Nice and Lille.
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