It is a soap opera which has not yet delivered its final intrigues. On Thursday, the Paris police headquarters published a decree prohibiting the parade of several dozen camelids this Saturday, on the route that had been agreed. After the ban on a first proposal for passage on the Champs-Élysées (8th century), camels and cronies will also not be able to wander near the Champ-de-Mars (7th century) for reasons of "works", " security” and “animal welfare”, says the police headquarters.
At the initiative of the “craziest parade of the year”, where camels rub shoulders with camels, alpacas and llamas, the mayor (SE) of Janvry (Essonne) Christian Schoettl was surprised by this decision. He indicates that he filed an appeal with the administrative court as soon as the prefectural text was published. “We hope that the judge will decide this morning or this afternoon in our favor,” the organizer confided this Friday.
“It’s an event like any other”
Not wishing to completely ban the holding of this demonstration, the police headquarters suggested to the organizer to move its parade to the Bois de Vincennes (12th century). An “unthinkable” alternative for Christian Schoettl. “We had not planned to organize a picnic with 34 foreign countries in the Bois de Vincennes,” laughs the mayor bitterly. How many protest demonstrations such as on pensions or Palestine have been sent to the Bois de Boulogne or Vincennes? It’s an event like any other. »
The elected official also sees a logistical concern. “I don't know who can imagine offering such a route 32 hours before an event, with the logistical burden of moving 34 delegations and 50 camels. »
Christian Schoettl had planned to bring around forty camelids to the capital in semi-trailers via the A6 motorway. These animals, coming from the four corners of France, would have trodden the Parisian asphalt for 3 and a half km. But changing all plans at the last minute, after a month and a half of preparation, seems “unthinkable and irresponsible” to the mayor of Janvry, who certifies that “security would not be guaranteed”.
Animal welfare called into question
Furthermore, the police headquarters is concerned, in its decree, about animal welfare. This could be harmed due to the fact that these animals “are not used to living in such a high urban density environment”.
An argument brushed aside by the defender of the parade. “I would like the police chief to explain to me the difference between the bitumen of Bois de Vincennes and the bitumen of the streets of Paris. And a parade where there is no one… Most of the animals come from the circus so they are used to the public. If that wasn't the case, we wouldn't take them, we're not crazy. »