Thousands hold new pro-Gaza rally in Paris amid tight security

Several thousands held a fresh protest against the Israeli offensive in Gaza today in Paris amid tight security days after similar rallies descended into violence and looting.
The government, which had banned the prior protests seeking to restrain what it called anti-Semitic radicals, authorised today's march after its organisers gave "security guarantees", Prime Minister Manuel Valls said.
A police source said more than 1,000 undercover and uniformed officers would be deployed along the march route, which ends in the upscale Invalides area where several government ministries are located.
The marchers, many of whom held Palestinian flags or stickers saying "Boycott Israel", shouted slogans such as "Israel killer" and "Long live Palestine, long live the resistance!".

Samira Cheblal, a marcher, said she had come with a simple message: "Stop the massacre of children and civilians."
In addition to the Paris event, staged by a coalition of pro-Palestinian and left-wing groups, demonstrations were also held in the cities of Lyon, Toulouse, Lille and Reims.

President Francois Hollande issued a reminder to protesters that the "responsibility of the state, the government and the president is to ensure that order is respected."
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve meanwhile warned that anyone caught shouting "Death to the Jews!" or burning an Israeli flag during the marches would be arrested.
But Cazeneuve also denounced the Jewish Defence League -- deemed a "right-wing terrorist group" by the FBI -- whose members clashed with pro-Palestinian supporters in an earlier Paris demonstration.

Banned rallies took place anyway at the weekend in Paris and its suburb town of Sarcelles, and ended in clashes, with police firing tear gas and arresting scores of protesters.
In Sarcelles, several Jewish businesses were looted, prompting Roger Cukierman, the head of the country's main CRIF Jewish grouping, to voice fears of "pogroms".
Four men were sentenced yesterday to between three and six months in prison for their role in the Sarcelles violence, and three others were given between three and five months suspended jail sentences for their involvement in the Paris unrest.