France lifts last-minute ban on Muslim congress

A French administrative court has authorised the country’s annual Muslim congress to proceed after overturning a last-minute ban imposed by the Paris police prefecture, according to a report by Le Monde.

The event, scheduled to take place from April 3 to 6, had been prohibited by police authorities citing security concerns. However, the court ruled on April 3 that those concerns were not supported by concrete evidence and approved the gathering.

Organisers criticised the timing of the ban, saying it had been introduced at the last minute and disrupted preparations for what would be the first congress in six years. Previous editions had been cancelled due to the pandemic and other challenges.

Police had justified the restriction by pointing to elevated security risks linked to the ongoing war in the Middle East, as well as a recent attempted attack on a Bank of America facility in Paris.

By Tamilla Hasanova