The Haute-Garonne prefecture unveiled a decree banning undeclared demonstrations in downtown Toulouse this Saturday, October 30. This decision directly affects the demonstration against the health pass and vaccination.

Undeclared events are not welcome in Toulouse city center. The prefect of Haute-Garonne issued a decree aimed at prohibiting “the Toulouse hypercentre to any unreported protest gathering on Saturday, October 30, 2021”.

Several points are put forward to justify this decision. First, “disturbances to public order are triggered in downtown Toulouse during undeclared gatherings” on previous Saturdays, notes the prefecture in UN release sent to the media. She cites as an example “acts of violence within the procession, anarchic wanderings in the city center of Toulouse, an obstacle to traffic by means of metal barriers placed on the public highway by demonstrators, attempts to intrude into the within the town hall of Toulouse (…) ”.

The prefecture also considers that “the absence of a declaration of an event does not make it possible to identify organizers capable of controlling the number of participants, compliance with barrier measures and social distancing, even though the shopping center in Toulouse is very busy on Saturdays ”.

However, the prefecture of Haute-Garonne recalls, always through a press release, that “demonstrations are not prohibited as such, provided that they do not fall within the perimeter of the hypercentre of Toulouse”.

As a reminder, a similar decision is taken each week by the prefecture and directly affects the demonstration against the health pass and vaccination. A gathering is planned today at the level of the François Mitterrand esplanade, where the Jean Jaurès metro station is located, at the gates of the hypercentre of Toulouse.