Representatives of trade unions, political movements and the journalistic community of France came out on Saturday to protest against the bill “On global security”, considered in the country’s parliament. The demonstration in Lille in the north of the country attracted more than one thousand participants.
Demonstrators oppose a number of provisions “threatening the free information of the population, expression of opinion”. Journalists fear that an article banning the filming of law enforcement officers, approved on Friday in the first reading by the French National Assembly, could limit the ability of journalists to cover demonstrations and, in particular, the work of the gendarmerie at such events.
Similar protests are planned in other cities of the country. In Paris, a demonstration was planned in the area of the observation deck near the Trocadero square near the Eiffel Tower, but on Friday the metropolitan police prefecture banned any meetings there due to the unfavorable epidemiological situation. Now this territory is fenced with metal mobile barriers, police squads are on duty at the site.