What if the pretext of public safety were now being used as censorship to prohibit the expression of the inhabitants of this country? We already know this happens in dictatorships like Russia, and even in the United States, but in this "gentle land of human rights," France, one can only be shocked. That said, when the Socialist Party invites the police prefect, notorious for repressing demonstrations, to its think tank, anything is possible! And pathetic. In 2023, Théo Boulakia and Nicolas Mariot published *L'attestation, Une expérience d'obéissance de masse* (The Attestation: An Experiment in Mass Obedience), Spring 2020, Anamosa, 2023. They noted that surveillance tools were becoming more sophisticated. Sebastian Roché and François Rabaté, in *La police contre la rue* (The Police Against the Streets), Grasset, 2023, painted a harsh picture of the repression and use of "law enforcement." These works were featured in the "Ideas and Struggles" column on the Le Monde Libertaire website.
Lucas Lévy-Lajeunesse, writing on behalf of the Human Rights League, drives the point home in *Silencing the Streets: The Case of the Ban on Demonstrations in Support of the Palestinian Cause*, published by Éditions du Bord de l'eau. The book is rich, packed with relevant information and legal arguments, a valuable tool for activists who intend to defend freedom of expression (Articles 10 and 11 of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen).
Is activism possible? Is it possible to win?
Consider that the number of decrees banning demonstrations has increased from 6 in 2016 to 370 in 2022 (source: Court of Auditors report, *Mobile Forces*, 2024). And when demonstrations are authorized, the reader will witness the brutalization of the repression.
Yet administrative case law, the decisions rendered by the courts, establishes the principle of freedom, and prohibition should only be an exception. It also emphasizes that administrative police authorities must take measures to guarantee freedom of expression. This has been the case since the landmark rulings of the Council of State in the 1920s and 30s. However, for several years now, prefects have been content to issue bans based on pretexts, on considerations as general as they are ineffective. When the administrative judge is called upon to rule, they often overturn these orders, but the damage is done; the demonstration could not take place in accordance with the law.
From public order to moral order?
Lucas Lévy-Lajeunesse uses a case study, the Palestinian cause, to help equip activists wishing to defend rights and freedoms. "The current dynamics of fascism, if recognized as such, can be confronted and defeated before the tipping point is reached. Since activism is still possible, victory is still possible." This is undoubtedly the most compelling aspect of the book: its demonstration of the risk to freedoms. When authorities rely on vague arguments like intangible public order, moral order is never far behind. Decrees are adopted based on the opinions of their authors, and one can also note their disregard for judges and the Defender of Rights. These statements, which you will find in the book, sometimes originate from parliamentary debates. We are moving from a system of declaration to a system of authorization of expression. This represents a regression in administrative law. The right of appeal is largely ineffective because the decision to ban a demonstration can be made two hours before it begins, making it too late to file an emergency injunction. Everyone knows this, and the authorities exploit it with impunity. "The fluidity of the concept of public order allows the administration to gradually shift its scope, abandoning the protection of civil liberties in favor of more policing-oriented approaches." Even for political ends.
From imperceptibly to tangibly, civil liberties are threatened. The League of Human Rights, founded in 1898, is regaining its full relevance, and the author of this book demonstrates, through a series of decrees and court decisions, with seriousness and precision, the urgent need for intervention.
* Lucas Lévy-Lajeunesse
Silencing the Streets
Ed. Le Bord de l'eau, 2026
https://monde-libertaire.net/?articlen=9106
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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