From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 8 hours ago, now updated
As of 3:30 p.m., police had already made 82 arrests. HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP
Hundreds of people gathered in London this Saturday for a pro-Palestinian march, organized under strict police surveillance on this weekend of commemoration of the First World War armistice. Police said they expected the presence of more than 100,000 protesters in the capital demanding a ceasefire five weeks after the deadly attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which responded with massive bombings of the Gaza Strip.
An extensive security system was deployed in the British capital to prevent possible riots during this demonstration, which was organized against government advice and has led to a political crisis in recent days. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has warned London police chief Mark Rowley that he will hold him “to account”, particularly if protesters disrupt Armistice Day commemorations planned in the capital at the same time.
“It is thanks to those who fought for this country and for the freedom we value that those who wish to demonstrate can do so, but they must do so in a respectful and peaceful way,” Downing Street said in a statement on Friday evening.
The route of the march, scheduled to begin at 12pm local time (and GMT), carefully avoids the Whitehall area where the main ceremony is due to take place. At 11 a.m., hundreds of people gathered near the Cenotaph, the capital’s main memorial, observed two minutes of silence. At 3:30 p.m., British police announced that they had already arrested 82 people.
Hooligans
Almost 2,000 police officers are deployed to ensure security at both the commemoration and the demonstration. London Police Chief of Operations Laurence Taylor stressed that this weekend would be “particularly tense and difficult”. In particular, he expects that nationalist counter-demonstrators, including hooligans, will be on site, increasing the risk of confrontations.
Clashes broke out in the morning when a group of these counter-demonstrators overpowered a group of police officers responsible for protecting the completely cordoned-off Whitehall district, as images posted on social networks showed.
Police had arrested nearly 200 people during previous demonstrations, which have been largely peaceful since October 7, some of them on suspicion of racist acts. Two teenagers were charged on Friday with spray-painting “Free Palestine” on a memorial to fallen British soldiers in the town of Rochdale, near Manchester, northern England.
“Marches of Hate”
Interior Minister Suella Braverman called the protests “hate marches” and said some of the organizers “have ties to terrorist groups, including Hamas.” This very conservative supporter sparked a torrent of criticism after she publicly accused police of using “double standards” in managing the demonstrations, with some calling for her to quit the government. On Friday evening, she said she “fully supports” the police.
According to a poll by conservative newspaper The Telegraph, 52% of Britons believe the march should have been banned. They make up 72% of conservative voters.
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