London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Protests take place across France against proposed “security” (police terrorism) law

Protests take place across France against proposed “security” (police terrorism) law

Demonstrations took place across France on Saturday against the proposed global security law and its signature measure to restrict the filming of police officers. They came as calls to withdraw it were exacerbated by cases of police violence this week.

The police prefecture initially restricted the main protest to République Square, but the decision was overturned by an administrative court and a collective was allowed to march from République to Bastille as the organizers had requested. The route is typical for protests in Paris.

The collective, called "Stop Loi Sécurité Globale" or Stop Global Security Law, is composed of journalists' unions, human rights NGOs and other groups. They are advocating for the withdrawal of articles 21 and 22 of the proposed law, "which organize mass surveillance," and article 24, which would penalize the "malicious" dissemination of the image of police officers.

They also call for the suppression of the so-called "New National Policing Scheme," announced in September by Minister of Interior Gerald Darmanin, which forces journalists to disperse during demonstrations when ordered to do so by the police, thus preventing them from covering the aftermath of protests, often stormy in recent years.

More than 100 local elected officials from the Paris region announced their participation in the protest via a public forum in the French weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

The protests marked the end of a tense week that saw two major police violence cases just as the law was being reviewed by France's lower chamber, the National Assembly.

The bill was amended by the government, lawmakers say, to ensure the freedom of the press and will head to the Senate in December.

Police cleared a migrant camp in central Paris on Monday, brutalizing in the process several journalists, including "Brut" reporter Remy Buisine. The images of the violence went viral on social media, raising scrutiny of the government's plans to make those images illegal.


Demonstrators clash with police during a protest against the "global security" draft law in Paris, on Saturday, November 28, 2020.


At a news conference on Wednesday, Darmanin, the French interior minister, was asked about the police response to the protests, and video of one journalist who claimed police threatened him with arrest despite his showing his press card.

"The journalist did not approach the police ahead of the protest -- as some of his colleagues did -- in order to be allowed to cover it," said Darmanin.
Yet nothing in French law requires journalists to seek the permission of the police before covering a protest.

On Thursday night, online media site Loopsider published footage showing the beating of a Black music producer, Michel Zecler, in and outside his studio by several police officers.

The video has been watched over 13 million times on Twitter, with many public figures, including international soccer players Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe, calling out the police violence.

The Paris Police Prefecture said the French internal police investigation body was asked to investigate the incident. It added it had asked the general director of the National Police to suspend the police officers involved as a precaution. CNN was unable to immediately determine who was representing the suspended officers.


President Emmanuel Macron denounced "images that bring shame upon us," while asking his government to "quickly make proposals" to "fight more effectively against all forms of discrimination."

"If people cannot film anything in the streets when the police may sometimes have an illegal use of force, it's a very worrying message to send," Cecile Coudriou, president of Amnesty International France, told CNN.

"On one hand, citizens are asked to accept the possibility of being filmed under the pretext that they have nothing to fear if they have done nothing wrong. And at the same time the police refuse to be filmed, which is a right in every democracy in the world."

Macron has made similar requests at least twice this year already, in January following violent clashes between the police and protesters against his government's pension reform and in June, in the context of a global wave of protests following George Floyd's death in the United States.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×