the gathering maintained despite the ban?

The rally in tribute to Adama Traoré, scheduled for Saturday July 8, was banned by the Val d’Oise prefecture, which fears excesses after the death of Nahel. The Adama collective wishes to maintain the appointment.

Will the annual march organized in tribute to Adama Traoré take place this Saturday, July 8, 2023? The event is suspended after the ban pronounced by the prefect of Val d’Oise on July 6. While for seven years, the rally has taken place under the impetus of Assa Traoré, the sister of the young man who died in 2016 during an arrest and erected as a symbol of the fight against police violence, this year the climate still sensitive after the death of Nahel, killed by police fire on June 29, and the riots which shook France, raised fears of excesses.

The arrival of Nahel’s mother at the march for Adama Traoré “likely to stir up tensions and generate serious disturbances to public order” crystallizes the fears of the prefect. “It does not appear possible to engage a sufficient level of forces to ensure the security of this event” and “no particular security device has been brought to the attention of my services” for the Vérité pour Adama collective, said added Philippe Court, in his press release.

As soon as the ban was pronounced, a response from the collective of Assa Traoré appeared on social networks. The collective ensured the maintenance of the gathering and has since filed an interim order to have the decision of the prefect of Val d’Oise annulled. The verdict is expected at the end of the day this Friday, July 7.

Where and when should the march for Adama take place?

The meeting returns each year and it must take place on Saturday July 8, 2023, from 2 p.m. in Persan and Beaumont-sur-Oise, municipalities of Val d’Oise. The course of the event follows the same framework every year after a march and a rally punctuated by speeches, before an evening concert and until 10 p.m. The prefect’s ban concerns the entire commemorative event from the march to the concert, it is specified in the press release.

Why is the march for Adama banned after Nahel’s death?

It is in one sentence that the prefect of Val d’Oise justifies the ban on the march for Adama. His fears are linked to the possible arrival of Nahel’s mother, several times seen alongside Assa Traoré after the death of her son, who risks “stirring up tensions and generating serious disturbances to public order” .

The Vérité pour Adama collective claims not to understand the decision, nor the explanations of the prefect. “For seven years, after each march, the prefecture has been satisfied with the way the Adama committee has managed the event”, recalls the group led by Assa Traoré. And while the current context still shaken by the death of Nahel is presented as an amplifier of the risks of excesses on the sidelines of the demonstration, the collective responds: “Following the death of Nahel, the march for Adama is all the more awaited and useful that it allows demonstrators to express themselves in a collective and framed way.”

The riots and scenes of violence that occurred after Nahel’s death are certainly not unrelated to the decision of the prefecture, which fears the arrival of “disruptive” elements, like those who came forward at the end of the white march organized for Nahel on June 29. The mobilization had been organized with the Adama collective.

The march for Adama supported by the left

If the Adama collective says it wants to maintain the march and is now awaiting the court decision on the summary procedure, it is supported by several personalities and political groups. On the left, La France insoumise and Europe-Ecologie-Les Verts have confirmed their participation in the march for Adama this Saturday, July 8. The four Nupe deputies from Val d’Oise denounced the prefect’s decision compared to “a provocation”. “How to explain that after the death of a young person killed by a policeman, cars should not be burned and buildings set on fire if peaceful and democratic demonstrations to express their anger are prohibited?” the LFI deputy for Seine-Saint-Denis Clémentine Autain.

“The unitary arc” formed by the Solidaires union, the CGT, the FSU, the Attac group and SOS-Racisme also rose up against the decision of the prefect. According to them, prohibiting the mobilization will have the effect of encouraging confrontations. “Breaking these spaces, restricting them, preventing them, is a source of tension and violence. The prefect claims to prevent tensions. In reality, he contributes to increasing them.” warns the president of SOS Racisme in remarks relayed by The world. As for the Adama committee, it sees this ban as an “attack on democracy”.