France uses teargas on banned pro-Palestinian rally as Macron calls for calm.

President Emmanuel Macron encouraged the French to remain together and avoid bringing the Israel-Hamas crisis home as French police dispersed a prohibited gathering in Paris on Thursday using tear gas and water cannons.

Previously, Macron’s interior minister outlawed pro-Palestinian demonstrations because they “were likely to generate disturbances to public order.” Europe’s greatest Muslim and Jewish populations are found in France. In the past, the Middle East war has frequently heightened internal tensions.

In a somber TV speech, Macron stated that “this event is an earthquake for Israel, the Middle East, and beyond.” “Let’s not pursue at home ideological adventures by imitating or projecting.”

“Let’s not add, through illusions or calculations, domestic divisions to international divisions,” he stated. “The shield of unity will protect us from hatred and excesses.”

Macron stated that there could be no justification for crimes and that the government has taken action to increase police security at Jewish facilities, including schools and synagogues.

No ‘Yes, but’ exists. It is morally, politically, and strategically incorrect for anyone to equate the Palestinian cause with the defense of terrorism.

Prior to his speech, the far-left France Unbowed party came under fire for its refusal to label the Hamas attack as an act of terrorism, leading to conflict with its opposition allies in the Socialist and Green parties.

REFUSED RALLY

Despite the restriction, several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters assembled in several groupings around downtown Paris, which police tried to prevent from converging.

Chants from the protesters included “Israel murderer” and “Macron accomplice.” Macron earlier denounced the fatal incident carried out by the extremist Hamas organization in Palestine and expressed support for Israel.

“We reside in a civil-law nation where we are free to express ourselves and participate in public demonstrations. Forbidding one side while authorizing the other is unjust, according to Charlotte Vautier, a 29-year-old employee of a nonprofit who participated in the march.

Hamas requested demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinians on Friday around the Muslim world earlier this week.

Gerald Darmanin, the interior minister, instructed prefects to prohibit any pro-Palestinian rallies across the nation on Thursday after two protests in Paris were previously canceled out of concern about violent outbursts.

The government said on Wednesday that French police had detained more than 20 persons in connection with scores of antisemitic incidents since the Hamas cross-border strike from Gaza on Saturday. These incidents include bullying of Jewish students at school by other students.