French police halt pro-Polisario rally over clash fears

On Saturday, May 11th, the French authorities banned Sahrawis from holding a rally in the town of Bressuire, in the Deux-Sèvres department, to commemorate the «51st anniversary of the creation of the Polisario Front», reports Ouest-France.

The decision was motivated by security considerations. The police prefecture feared clashes between Polisario supporters and Moroccans, who were planning to hold a counter-demonstration on the same day.

Bressuire had already hosted sit-ins in support of the Front, such as the one held on December 20, 2020, to denounce the operation by the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) on November 13, 2020, in El Guerguerate. Two members of the Polisario met on March 1st with the MP for the 3rd constituency of Deux-Sèvres, Jean-Marie Fievet (Renaissance, the party founded by President Emmanuel Macron).

The Moroccan consul for the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, Ahmed Nouri Salimi, had responded by meeting the same MP on March 30th, reported the daily Ouest-France at the time.