A protest permit or parade permit is permission granted by a governmental agency for a demonstration to be held in a particular venue at a particular time. Failing to obtain a permit may lead to charges of parading without a permit.
The requirement of a permit is sometimes denounced as an infringement of
free speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...
, by those who perceive permits as denied on spurious grounds or used to move protestors into
free speech zones. Permits are sometimes denied on grounds that the protest will create a security risk. A 2006 study in
''Mobilization'' said the available venues for protests were shrinking in number, citizens have experienced increasing difficulty in gaining unrestricted access to them, and such venues are no longer where most people typically congregate in large numbers.
By country
France
In May 2021, police in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
banned any protests in favor of
Palestinian nationalism
Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses Palestinian self-determination, self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine.de Waart, 1994p. 223 Referencing Article 9 of ''The Pales ...
, citing "risks of disturbing public order" as a result of the "particularly sensitive international context", leading
Jean-Luc-Mélenchon, leader of left-wing party
La France Insoumise to declare: "France is the only country where all support protests for Palestinians are forbidden, and protests against the
Israeli far-right government, it is obviously to create ''power incidendents'' and stigmatise that cause". An
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
spokesperson said in response: "A forbidding of a protest is legal on an international point of view only if it is motivated for a precise threat, and only if there is no other available general restriction to maintain order".
United States
In
Washington, D.C., the
United States Park Police
The United States Park Police (USPP) is the oldest uniformed federal law enforcement agency in the United States. It functions as a full-service law enforcement agency with responsibilities and jurisdiction in those National Park Service areas ...
,
U.S. Capitol Police, and
Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia have an elaborate permitting system.
See also
*
Free speech zone
*
Riot control
Riot control is a form of public order policing used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to social control, control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful Demonstration (people), demonstration ...
References
Protests
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