A French court on Friday overruled a Paris police ban on an annual Muslim event over the weekend due to a “terrorist risk targeting the Muslim community". The court noted that the public disturbances cited by the authorities to justify the ban were “not substantiated" by the evidence provided.
Issued on: 03/04/2026 -
By: FRANCE 24
File photo of a protester holding a placard reading, "We are Muslims and proud of it," taken during a rally against Islamophobia in Paris on May 11, 2025. © Geoffroy Van der Hasselt, AFP (File)
France’s administrative court on Friday ruled on an urgent appeal to overturn a ban on the Annual Gathering of French Muslims, scheduled for Friday through Monday, at Bourget, north of Paris.
The court found the public disturbances cited by the authorities to justify the ban were “not proven”. The presiding judge ruled that “the public order disturbances cited” by the Paris police to ban the Annual Gathering of French Muslims “were not substantiated by the evidence in the case file”, according to a statement from the Paris Administrative Court.
The judge also noted the absence of any documented incidents during previous such events, “which were also held at the Bourget Exhibition Center in tense contexts, particularly following the 2015 Paris attacks”.
The court ruling followed a ban order by the Paris police citing a "major terrorist risk" that the event might be targeted. The police order said the event was "taking place in a particularly tense international and national context".
The gathering was "exposed to a significant terrorist risk targeting the Muslim community", it added.
The ban order cited a foiled bid last weekend to bomb the Bank of America building in Paris – an event, it said, that underlined the seriousness of the threat inside France.
French prosecutors said the attempted attack might have been linked to a pro-Iran group, as security fears flare over the war in the Middle East.
Police also cited a polarised political debate during municipal elections last month.
The decision comes as the French interior ministry prepares a draft law designed to tackle the danger of radical Islamist elements infiltrating Muslim groups.
The bill is due to be presented to President Emmanuel Macron's cabinet at the end of April, the ministry said, confirming a report by Le Parisien newspaper.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
France’s administrative court on Friday ruled on an urgent appeal to overturn a ban on the Annual Gathering of French Muslims, scheduled for Friday through Monday, at Bourget, north of Paris.
The court found the public disturbances cited by the authorities to justify the ban were “not proven”. The presiding judge ruled that “the public order disturbances cited” by the Paris police to ban the Annual Gathering of French Muslims “were not substantiated by the evidence in the case file”, according to a statement from the Paris Administrative Court.
The judge also noted the absence of any documented incidents during previous such events, “which were also held at the Bourget Exhibition Center in tense contexts, particularly following the 2015 Paris attacks”.
The court ruling followed a ban order by the Paris police citing a "major terrorist risk" that the event might be targeted. The police order said the event was "taking place in a particularly tense international and national context".
The gathering was "exposed to a significant terrorist risk targeting the Muslim community", it added.
The ban order cited a foiled bid last weekend to bomb the Bank of America building in Paris – an event, it said, that underlined the seriousness of the threat inside France.
French prosecutors said the attempted attack might have been linked to a pro-Iran group, as security fears flare over the war in the Middle East.
Police also cited a polarised political debate during municipal elections last month.
The decision comes as the French interior ministry prepares a draft law designed to tackle the danger of radical Islamist elements infiltrating Muslim groups.
The bill is due to be presented to President Emmanuel Macron's cabinet at the end of April, the ministry said, confirming a report by Le Parisien newspaper.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
No comments:
Post a Comment