The parade of around fifty camelids planned around the Eiffel Tower on Saturday was banned by the Paris police prefect but could
“nevertheless”
be held in the Bois de Vincennes, according to a decree from the prefecture published Thursday. The French Federation for the Development of Camelids in France and Europe had planned to parade around fifty dromedaries, camels, llamas and alpacas on Saturday from the quays of the Seine to UNESCO headquarters, passing in front of the Eiffel Tower and the Invalides, so many sites in the 7th arrondissement of the capital.
“The parade may be held this April 20, 2024 at the Bois de Vincennes with a gathering at 12:00 p.m. on the esplanade of the Château de Vincennes, a departure of the procession at 2:00 p.m.
,” indicates the prefectural decree, and a possible
“ambulation”
in specific avenues until 6:00 p.m.
The organizer of this camelid demonstration, the mayor of Janvry (Essonne), Christian Schoettl, had previously refused a parade in the Bois de Vincennes or the Bois de Boulogne, according to the police headquarters.
The main reasons for this ban: urban density, traffic and security
To justify the ban around the Eiffel Tower, the prefect of police, Laurent Nuñez, invoked an area - the Champ de Mars -
"affected by infrastructure assembly sites"
in view of the Olympic Games and
"the significant consequences on traffic”
in this tourist place. The prefecture also ensures in its decree that this environment with
“such high urban density (...) is likely to harm animal welfare”
. It also evokes security issues, with an initial route near public buildings, in a context of
“hardening of the Vigipirate posture”
since the
“claim of responsibility for the Moscow attack by the Islamic State organization”
.
The announcement of this parade sparked the animal rights association
“Paris Animaux Zoopolis”
, which denounced in a press release the use of these animals as
“objects of entertainment”
and
“vulgar food resources”
. For his part, the organizer explained to AFP on Tuesday that this parade aimed to support
“the cause of the camel in the French capital of human rights”
.