A conference by La France Insoumise (LFI) MP Raphaël Arnault, initially scheduled for Thursday in Lyon, will instead take place on Friday, November 6, at a bar in Villeurbanne, in the Rhône department. Arnault announced the change on Tuesday, November 3, after a Lyon district municipality cancelled the booking for a public hall on security grounds.
Arnault and Rhône MP Anaïs Belouassa-Cherifi said in a joint statement that they would attend to reaffirm that Lyon and its surrounding area are places of antifascism and resistance to the far right. They called on the prefecture to take the necessary steps to protect both freedom of assembly and participants’ safety.
The event was advertised as a discussion about Arnault’s book, “Antifasciste,” and had been due to take place on November 5 at a municipal venue in Lyon’s 8th arrondissement. The city said the district municipality cancelled the reservation because of the risks associated with holding the event on the day of a protest against the rising cost of living, and because it could not guarantee the necessary security conditions. It also said it remained committed to freedom of expression.
The MPs criticised the cancellation, alleging that the Lyon municipality had acted at the far right’s request. Lawyers for Belouassa-Cherifi had previously said the conference would go ahead at another venue, citing freedom of assembly as a fundamental constitutional right.
The announcement comes after Arnault was questioned by France’s anti-terrorism police as part of an investigation into the killing of Quentin Deranque, a young Lyon-based nationalist activist who was beaten to death on February 14. Fourteen people have been charged with murder or complicity in the case, including associates of Arnault, among them a parliamentary aide.
Sources: Le Monde.