The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
December 1, 2015

France: Protest Remains Banned; Police Conduct More than 2,000 Raids 
---------------------------------------------------------------------


 
We're broadcasting live from Paris, France, diplomats, heads of states
and climate negotiators are beginning the second day of negotiations for
the 21st United Nations Climate Change Summit. Monday, nearly 150 heads
of state gathered here in Paris for what organizers called the
largest-ever gathering of its kind. Outside the COP21 facilities,
protests continued to be banned across France. French President
François Hollande has condemned the protests over the weekend, calling
it "scandalous" that they would protest at the Place de la Republique,
even though Democracy Now! original video footage shows the police, not
the protesters, were the ones to trample on the flowers and candles
commemorating the November 13 attacks.

François Hollande: "This is why these protests are not authorized. We
knew there would be troublemakers, who by the way have nothing to do
with climate activists, or those who want the conference to succeed, and
who are there only to create problems. That's why there were put under
house arrest. And it's doubly unfortunate, I'd even say scandalous,
Place de la Republique, where there are all these flowers and also
candles placed in memory of those who were killed by the bullets of
terrorists."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manuel Valls has confirmed police have raided
more than 2,000 homes since France declared a three-month state of
emergency following the attacks on November 13.