French courts rule on city protest bans amid cost-of-living demonstrations

Organisers of cost-of-living protests faced mixed rulings from French administrative courts. Paris’s tribunal upheld the police-mandated route from Porte d’Italie to Porte de Vincennes after rejecting the petition to alter it, prompting union leaders to accept the decision. In the Bouches-du-Rhône, the Marseille tribunal partially lifted a ban on gatherings in towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants, permitting rallies in Gardanne, Istres, Martigues, Miramas and Tarascon, while the prefect later granted a special permission for an inter-syndical march that will avoid Marseille’s centre.

Lyon’s prefectural order banning assemblies in the Presqu’île and historic districts led to a brief protest of about 150 people near the university being quickly dispersed. Lille’s prefecture barred central-city gatherings, and the regional administrative court rejected the Vigie Liberté association’s request for relief. Bordeaux’s prefect announced a broad prohibition for the weekend, and unions continue to seek judicial review before proceeding with a planned rally at Place de la Bourse.