Tear gas fired as Paris police try to disperse banned pro-Palestinian rally
By RFI
AP - Michel Euler
Pro-Palestinian rallies have begun in several French cities, with protesters in Paris marching in defiance of a police ban. Security forces in the capital used tear gas and water canon in a bid to break up demonstrations, which come after days of clashes between Israel and the Gaza Strip – the worst since a 2014 war.
Police ordered shops to close from noon along the planned route, from the heavily immigrant Barbes neighbourhood in the north to the Place de la Bastille.
Dozens of riot-control officers converged on the area ahead of the protest, set to start at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT), as did crowds of youths facing off against police units on several streets.