PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2020) France-wide protests against the new draft legislation criminalizing the display of images of the law enforcement were attended by more than 52,000 people, including around 5,000 in Paris, French broadcaster BFMTV reported on Saturday, citing the Ministry of the Interior.
For the second Saturday on end, the French take to the streets in Paris and other cities against a draft security law whose Article 24 entails one year imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 Euros ($54,000) for the distribution of images and video containing identifiable personal details of police officers and gendarmes that can potentially lead to their physical and psychological harm.
According to the report, about 90 rallies were held across France.
The protest in Paris grew into unrest, as protesters began throwing rocks and firecrackers at the police, to which the latter responded by firing tear gas repeatedly, as reported by a Sputnik correspondent. Following a brief period of calm, the unrest escalated in eastern Paris where radically-minded protesters initiated pogroms, with cars set on fire, windows being smashed and surveillance cameras dismantled.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that 64 people had been arrested during the violent protests. Of them 30 people were detained in the French capital alone, as reported by Paris police.
A similar protest in Paris last Saturday grew into massive unrest and resulted in multiple arrests.
The controversial bill was passed at the French parliament's lower house on November 24, immediately sparking a broad public decry, especially among journalists, even though the French government repeatedly assured them that the new law would not prevent them from duly exercising their professional activities.
Following the controversy, the lower house admitted that Article 24 could be revised. The bill is due for hearing at the upper house in January.
