Top French court overturns dissolution of climate protest group

France's top administrative court overturned the government's attempt to ban climate activist group Soulèvements de la Terre ("Uprisings of the Earth") on Thursday, saying the group did not pose a threat to public order.

A demonstration in Paris against the dissolution of Soulèvements de la Terre ("Uprisings of the earth"), on 23 June 2023. © Thomas SAMSON / AFP

The Soulèvements de la Terre (SLT) group was shut down in June by a government decree which accused it of encouraging violence and material damage.

The decree was first suspended temporarily in August by the same court, the Council of State.

Ordering the group to disband, the Interior Ministry referred to protests that resulted in clashes with police, including demonstrations against an agricultural reservoir in western France in March and a rail link in the Alps in June.

The move, which SLT appealed, was immediately criticised by the leftist opposition, environmental groups and NGOs.

• French climate protest group vows to fight on despite order to disband

In its decision on Thursday, the Council of State said that outlawing a protest group was an extreme measure and should only be resorted to when there was a serious risk to public safety.

"The dissolution of SLT did not constitute an appropriate, necessary and proportionate measure to the seriousness of the disturbances likely to be caused to public order," the court said in a statement.

⚖️ Soulèvements de la Terre, GALE, Alvarium, CRI : le Conseil d’État précise les critères justifiant la dissolution d’une association ou d’un groupement

➡️ Lire les décisions : https://t.co/W50PoCd9xQ pic.twitter.com/1cN5sDgkcW

— Conseil d'État (@Conseil_Etat) November 9, 2023

However, the court upheld a ban on three other groups: CRI, which campaigns against racism and Islamophobia, extreme-right association Alvarium, and Lyon-based antifascist protesters GALE. 

These other dissolutions were "justified", the Council of State said.

'Necessary fight'

"This decision brings hope for what comes next in the necessary fight we must wage in the face of the destruction underway," SLT said in a statement, crediting the public support it had received.

• Civil disobedience only way to protest climate change, say French activists

It decried the decision to uphold the bans on CRI and GALE, and said that it would resume its protests.

The group has already announced plans for a major new protest against reservoirs in Poitou, in the west of France, in July 2024.

(with Reuters and AFP)