France bans planned gathering of Muslims in Paris area, citing security risk
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Muslims attend the Eid al-Fitr prayers, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, at Stade Auguste-Delaune in Saint-Denis, near Paris.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PARIS - France banned a gathering of Muslims that was planned in the Paris area for the coming days, due to it representing a security risk, the country's top police officer said on April 2.
"At the request of the Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, I have issued an order prohibiting the 40th edition of the Annual Meeting of Muslims of France, from April 3 to April 6 at the Paris–Le Bourget Exhibition Centre," the Paris police chief Patrice Faure said in a post on X.
"This decision is set within a national and international context marked by heightened tensions and an increased level of terrorist alert, risks of public disorder, and the large police presence on the streets in the coming days," he said.
The decision comes after France increased security at sensitive sites across Paris after a foiled bomb attack on Bank of America's offices last weekend, in the wake of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Asked to comment on the situation, Mr Makhlouf Mameche, head of the organisation that planned the event, confirmed the banning order and added his organisation would be making a legal appeal against the decision. REUTERS
