French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. EPA
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. EPA
Paris blocks Iranian opposition demonstration after talks between foreign ministers
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot rejected allegations he agreed to ban a Paris-based Iranian opposition demonstration during a call with his counterpart in Tehran.
Mr Barrot talked with Abbas Araghchi during a call on Thursday and within 24 hours the Paris police issued a notice to stop a gathering by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) scheduled for Saturday.
The radical leftist group NCRI said on Friday that the city's police had banned the rally, which it hoped would attract 100,000 people in opposition to the US-Iran ceasefire signed by President Donald Trump this week.
"This ban was issued a few hours after a telephone conversation between Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of the mullahs' regime, and Jean-Noel Barrot," it said.
Jean-Noel Barrot, in background, watches US President Donald Trump sign the Iran deal. AFP Info
An NCRI statement said the announcement was politically driven by the French government.
The country's Foreign Ministry rejected the accusation. "This allegation is false," it said. "The [Iranian] minister did not mention this protest or request its cancellation."
The order from the Paris Prefecture refers to a "particularly tense national and international context" in issuing the ban. The authorities have said there was a "serious risk that clashes between activists with opposing views could occur during this demonstration, potentially causing serious public disorder".
Organisers said the group had co-ordinated with police for two months and followed all the legal procedures. The NCRI is the political arm of the People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, which lost a post-Shah struggle with the regime in the early 1980s.
It has held frequent rallies in the French capital over the years. They have been attended by thousands of people, including high-profile former US and European officials critical of Iran.
Thousands have attended past demonstrations held by the National Council of Resistance of Iran. EPA Info
It is also a bitter rival of the monarchists backing Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the deposed Shah. The NCRI is one of the few opposition groups able to rally supporters.
Tehran, which has banned the group in Iran, has long called for a crackdown on its activities in Paris and elsewhere.
Speaking on Friday, Mr Barrot said Iran's population had been the biggest victims of the war and that the killing of Iranians during a government crackdown on protests in January should not be forgotten. He added that France was setting up a platform to allow artists in exile to fully express themselves, independent of any political considerations.
Updated:
June 19, 2026, 11:14 AM
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