March of the "May 9 Committee": tensions and arrests in the heart of the capital

On Saturday, the Paris Administrative Court upheld the ban on the march organized by the far-right group "Comité du 9-Mai" (May 9th Committee), which had been announced in the capital. On paper, the message was clear. But in the streets, the afternoon took a different turn: 97 people from the far right and far left were arrested, 46 of whom were taken into custody, according to a report released early in the evening by the police headquarters. The charges centered on "participation in a group with the intent to commit violence" and "carrying prohibited weapons," with telescopic batons and knives among the items seized. The number of arrests climbed throughout the day: an initial report indicated nine people in custody before being revised upwards later that evening.

Republic, Pyramids, Saint-Michel… a city under control

République, Pyramides, Saint-Michel, Montparnasse: these are just some of the intersections where law enforcement concentrated checks and interventions, both in response to the order banning the march and to a counter-demonstration against fascism announced under the slogan "No Nazis in Paris." Gatherings were reported and dispersed, while police remained mobilized into the evening to prevent any sparks from escalating between opposing groups—that small flame which, in Paris, can quickly ignite an entire neighborhood. The police headquarters reiterated its position: "While demonstrators must be able to gather safely, the ban orders must be respected," with the stated objective of preventing "any potential confrontations." The "May 9 Committee" wanted, as in previous years, to pay tribute to Sébastien Deyzieu, an extreme right-wing activist who died on May 9, 1994 in Paris, an event now trapped in a logic of maintaining order where every initiative calls for its response and where the capital, once again, holds its breath for what comes next.