BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, Paris police prefect Michel Cadot announced that a hundred of activists taking part in the banned climate change rally were arrested after clashes with law enforcement officers.
"These demonstrations have not been allowed. We know that there have been disruptive elements who have nothing to do with defenders of the environment. They are not there so that the [UN Climate] talks succeed but are there solely to create incidents," Hollande told reporters, leaving an EU-Turkey summit in Brussels.
The event was disallowed by the French authorities due to the security concerns triggered by the Islamic State attacks on November 13.
"It is doubly regrettable, even scandalous that this happened at the Place de la Republique where flowers and candles have been left in memory of those who were killed by the terrorists' bullets," Hollande stressed.
Paris will host the 21st UN Climate Change Conference from November 30 to December 11. The conference aims to reach a legally binding agreement on climate change.
