A symbolic penalty of one euro but not so negligible for the victim. The administrative court of Melun (Seine-et-Marne) announced this Friday, December 20 that it was ordering the State to pay this modest sum to Adel Amara, an opposition municipal councilor from Villiers-sur-Marne.
The latter, who presented himself in the last legislative elections under the banner of the New Popular Front, was refused the organization of a demonstration on the square in front of the town hall in May by an order from the Val prefecture. -de-Marne.
“It’s a real relief that the rule of law holds,” rejoiced the elected official, who last month launched a call for a “citizen gathering driven by ecological, social and anti-racist values.” with a view to the next municipal elections.
Notified the same morning of the cancellation
At the time, Adel Amara criticized Mayor Jacques-Alain Bénisti (LR) for not taking administrative measures towards an employee of Escale, the socio-cultural space of the city, suspected of having publicly made insults of a nature racist.
On May 27, the opponent submitted a declaration to the prefecture with a view to a demonstration, entitled “Living together, stop racism at the town hall”. The event was planned for a few days later, on May 31 in front of the town hall.
However, on D-Day, the elected official had been warned at 10:30 a.m. by the Val-de-Marne prefecture that his rally planned for 3 p.m. in front of the town hall to protest against the mayor's decision not to sanction the municipal agent, would not take place.
“No proven anti-Semitic character”
It was “after examining the content and context of this publication, in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, the court specified this Friday in a press release, that it considered that this demonstration “did not present an anti-Semitic character proven nor did it involve incitement to hatred for religious reasons. The courts thus concluded that “the demonstration did not risk disturbing public order”.
In her decree, Sophie Thibault, the prefect in office at the time, notably criticized the opponent for having published on social networks a press release presenting a photograph of the mayor during the greetings of January 7, 2024 with the mention “In Villiers we also have a Meyer Habib”, in reference to the words of the former MP who described the population of Gaza as a “cancer”. Adel Amara also specified “authorized flag of Palestine”.
The State representative thus considered that “this publication therefore had an openly anti-Semitic scope and constitutes a call to hatred on grounds of religion. »
The court recognizes “moral damage suffered”
“This banned gathering had the sole objective of denouncing the mayor's inaction in the face of proven racism in the municipal administration,” adds the elected official who believes that “this decision was a political attack to criminalize an anti-racist and supportive voice of the Palestinian people. The prefect aligned herself with the fallacious narrative of the mayor of Villiers, issuing an arbitrary and illegal decree.”
By its judgment, and the symbolic euro to be paid, the court also recognized “the moral damage suffered”: in this case “the person concerned had been wrongly attributed to comments of an anti-Semitic or hateful nature”. Finally, the court emphasizes that “the prefectural ban was taken too late without justification”. So that Adel Amara was unable to appeal the decision “in due time” by appealing to the judge for interim relief. The State will also have to pay 1,500 euros to the elected official, for legal costs.
