Paris bans pro-Palestinian protest

PARIS (AP) — Paris police are forbidding pro-Palestinian protesters from holding a march, after violence marred a recent protest amid tensions in France around the fighting in Gaza.

France has Western Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish populations, and unrest in the Mideast sometimes translates into tensions between the communities.

After several thousand pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched peacefully Sunday through Paris, clashes broke out among small groups, including some who attacked synagogues.

Several demonstrations have been held in recent days, and another was planned for Paris on Saturday.

A police official said Wednesday said that authorities will ban it because of "the serious risk of disruption of public order that such a protest could engender, in a context of heightened tension." The official, who wasn't authorized to be publicly named, spoke on condition of anonymity.