In the midst of riots after the death of Nahel in Nanterre, the prefect of Val-d'Oise had banned the gathering which was to take place on July 8 in Persan and Beaumont-sur-Oise, organized by the truth and justice committee. for Adama, named after this young man who died on July 19, 2016 during an arrest by gendarmes. Nine months later, seized by the Human Rights League and Assa Traoré, Adama's sister, the administrative court of Cergy-Pontoise ruling on the merits confirmed on April 11 most of the measures then taken by the prefect. The court had already rejected the request for suspension of its orders in summary proceedings.
The latter endorsed the ban on the march and the gathering by confirming the prefect's arguments. The court thus underlines the “unprecedented and particularly degraded context of the riots”, “the risks of disturbances to public order” and the strong mobilization of the security forces on the front of the riots leading to insufficient availability of the police. The measure was deemed “proportionate”, as was the closure of stations in the sector.
An explosive context in Persan
In its decision, the administrative court returns in particular to the extent of the riots in Persan during which the town hall, the municipal police station and the municipal social action center were set on fire. He also notes that 80 people had to be evacuated to avoid being suffocated, therefore describing “a context of heightened tensions”.
The curfew imposed on minors also does not appear unjustified for the administrative court, which notes that the prefect “did not make an error in assessing the situation” in this case as well.
On the other hand, the prefecture's ban on any grouping of more than five people was deemed "disproportionate in its scope and its time range", taking into account the summer period and the absence of any intrinsic risk of disorder. public order, also retaining excessive constraints for the inhabitants of the communes of Persan and Beaumont-sur-Oise. The State will thus have to pay the Human Rights League and Assa Traoré 1,500 euros in legal costs.
Last July, Assa Traoré ended up taking note of the ban, however calling for demonstrations on July 8... Place de la République, in Paris. A demonstration which had also been banned but which took place nonetheless and brought together around 2,000 people. Two people, including a brother of Assa Traoré, were arrested. Several marches against police violence were organized that day in several cities in France, at the call of associations, unions and left-wing parties.