Freedom of expression does not justify blocking the movement of trains or planes, the Court of Cassation ruled on Wednesday, rejecting appeals from activists for disabled access to transport who notably blocked Toulouse airport in 2018 .
Around fifteen activists from the Handi-Social association, the majority of whom have disabilities, also blocked a TGV in 2018 to denounce the inaccessibility of transport and housing.
While the Toulouse Criminal Court had gone so far as to pronounce prison sentences in May 2021, the Court of Appeal ultimately only imposed fines of up to 2,000 euros in October 2022, including 1,400 suspended.
On Wednesday, the Court of Cassation rejected the appeals of the demonstrators who argued that their conviction “was an excessive attack on their freedom of expression”, explains the highest court of the judiciary in a press release.
The Court indicates that “the demonstrators were present on a railway track and along airport runways, in restricted access areas”, which had “resulted in the blocking of a train as well as air traffic » and caused “certain harm for users and transport companies”.
Furthermore, “the behavior of the authorities, during and after the demonstrations, was adapted” and the fines imposed were accompanied by “total or partial suspension”.
In fact, “these convictions did not cause a disproportionate attack on the freedom of expression of the demonstrators,” she believes.
For its part, the Handi-Social association reacted on Wednesday by welcoming that the Court of Cassation had “recognized that the actions […] took place as part of peaceful demonstrations on a subject of general interest.
“But,” she regrets, “human rights still do not apply to people with disabilities as if we were part of another humanity, while the obstacles to our participation in life in society are not the result of our disabilities or deficiencies, but rather the choices of a society inaccessible and unsuitable for everyone.”
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