Paris police on Tuesday banned a controversial "pork sausage and wine" street party planned by extremist groups to combat what they saw as the "Islamisation" of a city neighbourhood.
The event was planned for Friday evening at a time when the district's streets are usually jammed with Muslims coming out of mosques and just before Algeria were due to play England in the football World Cup.
This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog - islamineurope.blogspot.com
But police banned the event and any rival gatherings in the Goutte d'Or area of northern Paris' 18th arrondissement, or district, saying in a statement that it was likely to cause "serious risks to public order."
The plan had sparked outrage from politicians and anti-racism groups who said it was blatantly racist and could lead to violence on the streets.
The controversy comes after a government-sponsored debate on national identity earlier this year spotlighted anxieties about the integration of France's five to six million Muslims.
The Goutte d'Or party, or "apero geant" as it was called in French, was a new and politically-charged take on a growing trend in France for huge open-air drinks parties organised on the social networking site Facebook.
Many of them have been banned because authorities fear mass drunkenness.
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The street party, whose two main components of pork and alcohol are forbidden by Islamic teaching, was scheduled to be held on Rue Myrha, where there is a mosque.
A French government minister of Algerian descent, Fadela Amara, on Tuesday condemned the planned party as "hateful, racist and xenophobic."
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe for his part voiced concern that the drinks party could turn violent, while the head of the main Paris mosque located in another area invited the faithful to attend prayers there to avoid clashes.
A rival group on Facebook had set up a "halal and mint tea" party in response to the pork and wine event.
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Source: AFP
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