PARIS, Nov 28, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Dozens of rallies are planned Saturday
against a new French law that would restrict sharing images of police, only
days after the country was shaken by footage showing officers beating and
racially abusing a black man.
The case shocked France with celebrities and politicians alike condemning
the officers’ actions, and has brought debate over President Emmanuel
Macron’s law to boiling point.
One of the most controversial elements of the new law is Article 24, which
would criminalise the publication of images of on-duty police officers with
the intent of harming their “physical or psychological integrity”.
It was passed by the National Assembly last week — although it is
awaiting Senate approval — provoking rallies and protests across France.
Rally organisers are calling for the article to be withdrawn, claiming
that it contradicts “the fundamental public freedoms of our Republic”.
“This bill aims to undermine the freedom of the press, the freedom to
inform and be informed, the freedom of expression,” one of Saturday’s protest
organisers said.
Trade unions are expected to join the demonstrations, with members of the
yellow vests — whose sometimes violent protests in 2018 and 2019 shook the
country — also expected.
In Paris, the authorities had demanded that organisers limit the rally to
a single location, but on Friday evening officials authorised a march.
And in a sign that the government could be preparing to backtrack, Prime
Minister Jean Castex announced Friday that he would appoint a commission to
redraft Article 24.
Under the article, offenders could be sentenced to up to a year in jail,
and fined 45,000 euros ($53,000) for sharing images of police officers.
The government says the provision is intended to protect officers from
doxxing and online abuse, but critics say it is further evidence of the
Macron administration’s slide to the right.
But media unions say it could give police a green light to prevent
journalists — and social media users — from documenting abuses.
They point to the case of music producer Michel Zecler, whose racial abuse
and beating at the hands of police was recorded by CCTV and later published
online, provoking widespread criticism of the officers’ actions.
In another instance, journalists on the ground at a French migrant camp
witnessed and recorded police brutality on Monday as the Paris area was
cleared.
Protests over police brutality have already taken place elsewhere in
country ahead of Saturday.
In the southern city of Toulouse demonstrators took to the streets on
Friday evening brandishing placards with slogans like “police everywhere,
justice nowhere”.
In western Nantes police said around 3,500 rallied, while organisers put
the crowd at 6,000-7,000.