Macron's protest ban faces legal challenge before Council of State

Lawyers filed an emergency appeal with the Council of State on Thursday after President Emmanuel Macron announced that only union-organized demonstrations would be permitted on Saturday, with routes designed to protect shops and public buildings. The legal action claims this decision is a disproportionate restriction on freedom. The appeal, filed by the association for constitutional liberties and the magistrates' union, challenges Macron's directive that prefects should ban gatherings by groups lacking "legitimacy." The plaintiffs argue the president has taken a decision no legal text allows him to make, as fundamental guarantees for public freedoms fall under the sole authority of statutory law. The request also contends that current law only permits banning a demonstration if it threatens public order, while Macron's general recommendation against all protests suggests a goal of preventing any gatherings whatsoever, not addressing specific disturbances.