A-Infos (en) France, Monde Libertaire - IDEAS AND STRUGGLES: Silencing the Streets (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

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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